CHEISTIAN ETHICS, 



OR 



THE SCIENCE OF DUTY. 



BY 

JOSEPH ALDEN, D. D., LL. D., 

LATE PEESTDENT OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. AUTHOR OF ** ELEMENTS 
OP INTELLECTUAL PHILOSOPHY," "THE SCIENCE OP 
GOVEENMENT," ETC., ETC. 




NEW TOEK: 
mSON, PHINNEY, BLAKEMAN & Co., 
Nos. 48 & 50 WALKER STREET. 
CHICAGO: S. C. GEIGGS & Co. 

1 8 66. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 186d, by 
IVISON, PHINNEY, BLAKEMAN & Co., 
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 
Southern District of New York. 



Stereotyped by Smith & McDotiQAL, 82 & 84 Beekman St., N. Y. 



TO 



EDWAED SMITH, 

meechakt, of l^ew yokk. 

Dear Sir: — 

The opportunities for observation 
which our long and intimate friendship has fur- 
nished, have wrought in me a conviction that the 
principles inculcated in this volume have guided you 
in your business transactions and social relations. 
Those who succeed in acquiring wealth by acting on 
such principles, confer a moral as well as pecuniary 
benefit on the public. Men of this class are among 
the most efficient teachers of morahty. Believing 
you to belong to this class, I take the liberty of 
inscribing to you this volume, as a mark of my 
respect and affection. 

JOSEPH ALDEN. 



PREFACE. 



The author designed to write a text-book — not a com- 
mentary. He has attempted to famisli a directory of 
duty ; but in so doing, he has not enumerated all the du- 
ties of men in all the relations in which they may be 
placed. He has selected such principles and rules as will 
readily guide the honest inquirer into all truth in relation 
to duty. 

The work is emphatically a practical one, yet the au- 
thor has not been guilty of the folly of attempting to 
separate the practical from the theoretical. They are 
united in every mind. Every one has a reason, sound or 
unsound, for the rule he adopts. To give the reason for 
a rule is to give the theory of it. 

The reasons of the duties set forth are stated, except in 
cases where they can be readily inferred. A book which 
leaves nothing for the teacher and pupil to think out, 
must needs be a dull one. 

Truths expressed in technical language and in scientific 
forms, are less likely to become incorporated with the 
thinking of the student than when expressed in ordinary 
language, and illustrated by familiar objects. A treatise 
on Ethics should be a directory of life : it will be influen- 
tial in forming the character, in proportion as its prin- 



vi 



PEEF ACE. 



ciples become incorporated with the mind, and the form 
and arrangement are forgotten. 

Among the friends of morality, there is not much 
diversity of opinion as to duties. There are differences 
with respect to the religious theory of certain duties. In 
such cases, the authority for the duty has been given in 
the language of Scripture, and the theological explanation 
left with the teacher. The author has thus not omitted 
any important duty, and has avoided giving to his work 
a sectarian character. 'No believer in the Bible will find 
in this work any principle to which he can object. He may 
differ from the author in his application of principles. 

The Bible is appealed to throughout as authority in all 
matters of duty. Its authority is admitted by all Chris- 
tians, however diverse may be their theological views. 

A deep impression of the importance of moral culture is 
felt in the community. It is seen that intelligence alone 
will not execute justice, and maintain truth. The pervad- 
ing influence of moral principle is the only substitute for 
the bayonet. Hence the author trusts that this attempt 
to furnish an aid for the moral education of the young 
will not be looked upon with disfavor, 
New Yoek, June 1, 1866. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTEE 1. 

PAGE 

Right and Wrong — Conscience — Moral Obligation . 11 

CHAPTEE II. 

Moral Nature of Man — Man a free Agent — Paramount 
Claims of Duty — Need of Revelation . . .17 

CHAPTEE III. 

Division of Duties — Duty to God includes all Duty — 
The Study of his Character — Providence — Obedience 
and Reverence 23 

CHAPTEE IV. 

Love to God — Confidence in his Testimony, Promises 
and Character — The Reasonableness of Faith . , 32 

CHAPTEE V. 



Prayer — ^Penitence — Submission — A Forgiving Spirit — 
Objects of Prayer — Thanksgiving and Praise . . 38 



VUl 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTEE VI. 

PAGE 

Advantages of the Study of the Bible . . .47 

CHiiPTER Vn. 

Culture and Care of the Body — Lawful Kelaxations — 
Self-Defence 54 

CHAPTER Vm. 
Discipline and Development of Mind — Self-Control . 59 

CHAPTER IX. 
Regulation of our Desires • . . • . .68 

CHAPTER X. 
Culture of the Domestic Affections . . , .77 

CHAPTER IX. 
Duties of Benevolence 84 

CHAPTER Xn. 
Duties of Justice . . . . . , . . 92 

CHAPTER Xm. 
Duties of the Employer and the Employed • . 99 



CONTENTS. ix 

CHAPTEE XIV. 

TAGE 

Personal Liberty — Character — Reputation . . . 108 

CHAPTEE XV. 
Duty of Veracity 114 

CHAPTEE XVI. 
Promises and Oaths 119 

CHAPTEE XVn. 
Associations and Corporations . . . . * . 124 

CHAPTEE XVm. 
Duties of Citizens 133 

CHAPTEE XIX. 
Duties of Citizens, Continued 138 

CHAPTEE XX. 
Duties of Legislators , 145 

CHAPTEE XXI. 
Duties of Judges 150 



CHAPTEE XXn. 

PAGE 

Duties of the Executive 154 

CHAPTER XXrCL 
Duty of Rest and Worship 159 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
The Future Life 165 



CHKISTIAN ETHICS. 



CHAPTEE I. 

EIGHT AND WKONG CONSCIENCE — MOBAL OBLIGATPION. 

Every one possessed of common sense knows that 
there is a difference between right and wrong, as 
truly as he knows that there is a difference between 
black and white. He knows that there are some 
things which ought to be done, and some things 
which ought not to be done. He knows that he ought 
to do right, and that he ought not to do wrong. He 
knows what duty is. He may not know what his 
duty is in all cases, and he may not do it when he 
does know it ; but he knows what duty is. 

If the question be asked, how do we know that 
there is a difference between right and wrong ? it may 
be repHed, that we know it in the same way that we 
know there is a difference between truth and error. 
How do we know that some things are true and some 
things false ? We see them to be true or false, that 
is, the mind sees that they are true or false. How do 
we know that two and two make four? That two 



12 



CHEISTIAiT ETHICS. 



tilings equal to a tliird thing are equal to one another ? 
that the whole of a thing is greater than a part of it ? 
The mind sees the truth of these propositions as soon 
as they are set before it. When truths are thus 
directly perceived, they are said to be intuitively per- 
ceived. They are called intuitive truths. 

If it be asked in regard to any one of these propo- 
sitions, or in regard to any self-evident proposition, in 
what does this truth consist ? No answer can be given. 
It may be said that it consists in being true ; but that 
answer conveys no information. It simply re-affirms 
the truth of the proposition. If it be asked, why is it 
true ? No answer can be given. It may be said, " be- 
cause it is true /' but that is simply re-affirming its 
truth. It may be said, "on account of the nature of 
things /' but that expression, if it have any meaning, 
simply re-affirms the truth of the proposition. 

If it be asked, how do we know that some things 
are right ? The reply is, we see them to be right, that 
is, the mind sees that they are right. Tou see a man 
rescue another from drowning : you see that the ac- 
tion is right : you see that the neglect to rescue him, 
if within one's power, would be wrong. 

You see a man returning money entrusted to him 
for safe keeping : you see that the action is right : 
you see that a refusal to return it, vdthout just cause, 
would be wrong. These actions are intuitively per- 
ceived to be right. 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



13 



If it be asked, why they are right, and in what 
their rightness consists ? no answers can^ be given. 
We cannot tell why a proposition relating to duty 
intuitively perceived is right, or in what its right- 
ness consists, any more than we can tell why an in- 
tuitive truth is true, and in what its truth consists. 

Perhaps some may say, it is right to rescue a 
drowning man, because it is an act of benevolence. 
It may then be asked, why is an act of benevolence 
right ? The only reply that can be given is, " because 
it is right," and that, as we have seen in regard to 
truth, is simply re-affirming the proposition. 

Some say an act of benevolence is right, because it 
tends to promote human happiness : but then it may 
be asked, why is it right to promote happiness ? In 
the end, we are shut up to the answer, " because it is 
right," that is, to an intuitive perception of right. 

Some truths, like the examples given above, are 
perceived intuitively, and some are arrived at by rea- 
soning. For example, you see footprints on the sand, 
and you infer that some person has been there. You 
see a person habitually partaking of intoxicating 
drinks, and you infer that his health will suffer. In 
these and similar cases, you see some things to be 
true, because you have seen certain other things to be 
true. 

The truth of a proposition often depends upon the 
truth of several other propositions, and we must know 

2 



14 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



the truth, of those propositions before we can know its 
truth. The truth of this remark is plain, especially to 
those who have any acquaintance with geometry. 

In like manner, while some duties are intuitive, 
there are others which are arrived at by reasoning. 
Our perception of the rightness of an action may 
depend upon our perception of several, perhaps many, 
things connected with it. 

When our perception of a truth relating to politics 
depends upon our perception of several other truths, 
we are liable to error. So, also, when our perception 
of a truth relating to duty depends upon our percep- 
tion of several other truths, we are liable to error. 
We are as liable to make mistakes in our perceptions 
in regard to duty, as in our perceptions in regard to 
politics, or law. The human mind is not infallible in 
its reasonings on any subject. It may err even in its 
mathematical reasonings. 

The mind was made to know truth relating to duty 
as truly as it was made to know truth relating to 
agriculture, or commerce, or legislation. Its mode of 
proceeding in regard to all kinds of truth is the same. 
In regard to all kinds of truth, some truths are per- 
ceived intuitively, and others are arrived at by rea- 
soning : in other words, some truths are perceived 
immediately, by simply looking at them, and others 
mediately, or by the aid of other truths. 

It may be asked. Does not conscience make known 



CHRISTIAN ETHICS. 



15 



to us onr duty? Tes, but you must understand wliat 
is meant by conscience. Conscience is not an agent 
dwelling in the mind, and issuing its commands or 
dictates. Conscience is defined to be the power by 
which the mind perceiTCS the difference between right 
and wrong. But a power of the mind is not some- 
thing separate from the mind. T\Tien W6 speak of 
the mind as having ceriain powers or faculties, we 
mean that the mind can do certain things. When the 
mind perceiyes external objects through the agency 
of the senses, it is said to be exercising the faculty of 
perception- TMien the mind recalls past events, it is 
said to be exercising the faculty of memory. "WTien 
the mind perceives truths, by means of other truths, 
it is said to be exercising the reasoning fa<3ulty. 
When the mind perceives duty, it is said to be exercis- 
ing the moral faculty, or conscience. The expressions, 
" conscience makes known to us our duty,'' and " the 
mind perceives duty,'' have the same meaning. The 
first ioim of expression is figui^ative, the second is 
literal We are much less liable to error, when we 
use Uteral, than when we use figurative expressions. 

^\Tien it is said that conscience is an original 
attribute of our nature, the meaning is^ that the 
human mind was made with the power of perceiving 
right and wong. When it is said that conscience is 
fallible, the meaning is, the mind may make mistakes 
as to duty. 



16 



CHRISTIAN ETHICS. 



Some writers have attempted to prove tliat we 
ought to do right. They have never succeeded. It is 
impossible to prove a self-evident truth ; because, no 
truth more evident can be brought to support it. 
We should do what is right because it is right. The 
obligation to do right is involved in the perception of 
right. To perceive what is right in our sphere of 
action, is to be under obligation to do it. "We might 
as well ask, why should we believe what is true ? as, 
why should we do what is right ? 
Evil consequences may follow the belief of error ; 
but that is not the reason why we should believe 
truth. A true proposition should be believed because 
it is true. A right action should be performed be- 
cause it is ri^ht. 



CHAPTEE n. 



MOEAL NATTTEE OF MAN — MAN A FREE AGENT C5LAIM3 OP 

DUTY PAEAMOUNT EEYELATION NEEDED. 

The phrase, " our moral nature," is often met with, 
especially in treatises on duty. T\Tien it is said, our 
moral nature requires us to act in a certain manner, 
the meaning is, we, that is, our minds perceive it to 
be our duty to act in that manner. 

By our moral nature is meant our capacity to 
perceive duty, and to act freely in view of it. Wo 
know that we can perceive duty ; we know that we 
are free agents. 

The proposition, "Man is a free moral agent," is a 
self-evident truth. No objections to it are of any 
weight. "Whether we can answer them or not, we 
know that we are free to do right or wrong, and 
hence are worthy of blame when we do wrong. 

Suppose obfections that you could not answer were 
brought to the proposition, " The whole is greater 
than its part ?" It would not in the least shake your 
behef of that proposition : so if objections that you 
cannot answer are brought to the proposition, " Man 

2* 



18 



CHBISTIAN ETHICS. 



is a free moral agent/' tliey will not in tlie least shake 
your belief of that proposition. 

Duty has higher claims upon us than anything 
else has. An action may be adapted to give us a 
great deal of pleasure ; yet, if it is not right, it must 
not be performed. Suppose some fine strawberries 
are before you. It would be very pleasant to eat 
them ; but they do not belong to you. The claims of 
duty are higher than the claims of pleasure. 

An action may be adapted to promote our pecu- 
niary interest ; yet, if it is not right, it must not 
be performed. A man puts into your hands a large 
sum of money for safe keeping. He dies and no one 
knows that you have it. You might purchase a fine 
house with it ; but it is not yours. It belongs to the 
heirs of the man who placed it in your hands. Duty 
requires you to deliver it to them. The claims of 
duty are higher than the claims of interest. 

That which is right is always to be done. There is 
no exception to this rule. It is never right to do 
wrong. Nothing can excuse us for doing wrong. 
Hence, the knowledge of duty is the most important 
of all knowledge. 

We have seen that the mind perceives some duties 
directly and others indirectly, or by means of reason- 
ing. We have seen that the mind is liable to err in 
reasoning. In complicated circumstances, it is often 
difficult to find the truth — difficult to learn what our 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



19 



duty IS. Hence we need aid, in order to arrive at a 
perfect knowledge of duty. We need aid fi^om One 
who cannot err. We need aid fi'om oiu' Heavenlj 
Father. In order to a perfect science of duty — a per- 
fect system of raorals — a perfect directory of hfe, we 
need the aid of Divine Eevelation. 

This will further appear, when we consider that, 
without the aid of revelation, we in many cases arrive 
at a knowledge of duty, by observing the conse- 
quences of actions. We see a white powder resem- 
bhng sugar. We do not know whether it would be 
right for us to take it or not. There is nothing in 
the action diixctly viewed that vvill enable us to de- 
termine whether the act of taking it would be right or 
wrong. The decision depends upon a consideration 
of consequences. When we learn that the powder is 
poisonous, we know that it would be wrong to take it, 
or to administer it to others. Knowledge acquii^ed 
by personal experience would necessarily come too 
late. 

There are many things in practical life, in relation 
to which, without the aid of revelation, a knowledge 
of duty could be acquired only by a consideration of 
theii^ consequences. 

Our knowledge of right and wrong ought not in 
any case to depend upon experiment, since that 
would expose us to the hability of doing wrong. As 
it is our duty always to do right, we ought to avoid 



20 



CHKISTIAN ETHICS. 



that liability. We need in all cases to know our duty 
at the outset. Hence we need directions from One 
who knows all things. We need directions from 
God. 

We cannot, by the exercise of our natural facul- 
ties arrive at a perfect knowledge of duty, even in 
regard to those things which are within reach of our 
natural faculties. But we have duties which are en- 
tirely beyond the reach of our natural faculties — 
duties of which our unaided minds could not acquire 
even a partial and imperfect knowledge. There are 
made known to us in the Bible, truths respecting God, 
which the unaided human mind could never discover. 
From those truths arise certain duties. A knowledge 
of those truths is necessary to a knowledge of duties 
grounded upon them. 

A consideration of those truths would lead us 
into the domain of Natural Theology. Allusion is 
made to them to show that the teachings of the Bible 
are necessary to a perfect knowledge of duty. 

The teachings of the Bible include and sanction 
all the duties which the human mind can reach with- 
out its aid, and add others peculiarly its own. The 
teachings of nature and revelation are always har- 
monious ; but the latter corrects and enlarges the 
former. In attempting to give a complete enumera- 
tion of our duties, we shall have recourse to both 
sources of knowledge. 



CHBISTIAN ETHICS. 



21 



Every one should desire to know his whole duty 
that he may do it. He who is willingly ignorant of 
a portion of his debts that he may not pay them, is 
not honest toward men. He who is willingly ignorant 
of some of his duties that he may not do them, is not 
honest toward God. 

Happiness is connected with the performance of 
duty, and unhappiness with the violation or neglect 
of it. God has so ordained. Happiness is incidental 
to the performance of duty. The true way to secure 
it, is to make the performance of duty our first object. 

The order and well-being of the state depend upon 
the performance of duty on the part of its citizens. 
If all the citizens of a state were to perform all their 
duties, that state would speedily reach the highest 
degree of prosperity. 

Attempts have been made to construct the science 
of duty without the aid of revelation : in other words, 
attempts have been made to show that a perfect 
system of duty can be taught without having recourse 
to the Bible. Such attempts have failed. We have 
seen the causes of the failure. "We have seen that we 
may err in our perceptions of duty even on subjects 
within the compass of our powers. We have seen 
that there are some duties which we owe to ourselves 
and to others, which, as they are learned from con- 
sequences, could not be learned in time for action. 
We have seen that there are some duties to God, 



22 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



wliich are founded on knowledge concerning him 
which the Hght of nature does not furnish. 

Some writers on moral philosophy, though sincere 
Christians, have seemed reluctant to be under obhga- 
tions to the Bible. The astronomer is not reluctant 
to avail himself of the aid of the telescope. The 
morahst should not be reluctant to avail himself of 
the aid of Hght from above. If it is the object of a 
writer to see how far the unaided mind can go in 
learning duty, he will of course confine himself to the 
teachings of nature ; but if his object is to set forth 
a complete system of duty, he will of course avail 
himself of the aid of the omniscient One, when that 
aid is placed within his reach. 



CHAPTER m. 



DIVISION OF DUTIES — DUTY TO GOD INCLUDES ALL DUTY— 

THE STUDY OF HIS CHAEACTEE — -PEOVLDENCE 

OBEDIENXE AND EEYEEENCE. 

The existence of God is tanglit by natui^e and by 
the Bible, or rather it is taught by natui'e and 
assumed by the Bible. The Bible does not begin by 
saying ''there is a God," but by saying, '4n the be- 
ginning God created the heavens and the earth," 

The arguments from nature for the existence of 
God, belong to the science of Natural Theology, and 
will not be given in this "work. The Bible affirms 
that natui'e teaches the existence of God. " For the 
invisible things of Him fi^om the creation of the world 
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that 
are made, even his eternal power and Godhead.'* 
Eom., i. 20. 

Our duties to God include all other duties. The 
duties which we owe to men, we owe also to God. 
For example, to treat oui' neighbor kindly is a duty 
which we owe to him. It is also a duty which we 
owe to God. 



24 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



Our duties are commonly divided into, 1. Those 
wliicli sve owe to God, 2. Those wliicli we owe to our- 
selves, 3. Those which we owe to others. 

If we do our whole duty to God, we shall neces- 
sarily do our duty to ourselves and to others. To do 
our whole duty to God, is to do all his will. It is 
his will that we should do what is termed our duty to 
ourselves and to others. 

The proposition, " It is our duty to do the will of 
God," thus includes all our duties. We need then to 
know what that will is — what God would have us do 
in the varied relations of hfe, We need to consider 
duty in detail. To this Vv^e shall now proceed. 

It is our duty to study the character of God as it 
is made known to us by his word and by his works. 

God is our Father. Christ has told us to call him 
"Our Father.'' It is fitting that the chHd should 
know the character of his father, especially when that 
character is one of infinite excellence. 

A knowledge of God's character is necessary in 
order that we may know the duties vre owe him. For 
example, we need to know that he is just, that we 
may see it to be our duty to submit to his govern- 
ment. AVe need to know that he is merciful, that we 
may see it to be our duty to ask pardon for our sins. 
"We need to know that he is infinitely lovely, that we 
may see it to be our duty to love him with all the 
heart. 



CHBISTIAN ETHICS. 



25 



The study of the diyine character has a tendency 
to promote the perfection of our own character. Ex- 
perience shows that we become hke those whose 
characters are the object of our admiring study. 
The more we study, in a proper manner, the character 
of God, the more we shall be like him. The Apostle 
recognizes this truth. He says that those "behold- 
ing as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed 
into the same image from glory to glory, eyen, as by 
the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Cor., iii. 18. 

There is no study so glorious, so exalting as the 
study of the character of God, — " the high and lofty 
One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy." 
Isa., Ivii. 15. 

It is our duty to recognize God's hand in his 
works. "All things were made by him, and without 
him was not any thing made that was made." John, 
i. 3. Through the agency of second causes, he is still 
carrying cai his operations in nature. " Who covereth 
the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the 
earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the moun- 
tains." Ps. cxlvii. 8. "He giveth snow like wool: 
he scattereth the hoar frost like ashes." Ps. cxlvii. 16. 
" Thou hast made summer and winter." Ps. Ixxiv. 17. 
"My Father worketh hitherto." John, v. 17. We 
are thus in the midst of the works of God, and he is 
constantly at work around us — guiding the stars, 



26 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



causing the seasons to return, weaving the leaf, paint- 
ing the flower and ripening the fruit. 

We should not live in the midst of these wonder- 
ful works and operations forgetful of their Author. 

Sir Christopher Wren built St. Paul's church in 
London. Suppose his son should visit that edifice, 
and admire its beauties, without once thinking of his 
father ! Suppose the daughters of Milton should read 
and admire Paradise Lost without thinking of their 
blind old father who wrote it ! They would do what 
multitudes of God's children do. They are sur- 
rounded by his handy-work. On one side there is 
the exhibition of stupendous power : on the other, 
specimens of exquisite skill : here is an example of 
his provident care for the wants of his children, and 
there are intimations of his inflexible regard for law, 
and yet they notice none of these things. "God 
goeth by them and they see him not." They may 
wonder and admire, but "God is not in all their 
thoughts." 

We should form the habit of associating thoughts 
of God, grateful and adoring thoughts, with his 
works. There is truth as well as poetry in the follow- 
ing passage from Cowper. 

"He looks abroad into the varied field 
Of nature, and, though poor, perhaps, compared 
With those whose mansions glitter in his sight, 
Calls the delightful scenerj all his own 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



27 



His are the mountains and the Tallies his, 
And the resplendent rivers. His t' enjoy 
With a propriety that none can feel 
But who, with filial confidence inspired, 
Can lift to heaven an unpresumptuous eye 
And smiling say, 'My Father made them alL'" 

It is our duty to recognize God's hand in his pro- 
vidential goTernment. We do not live in a fatherless 
and ungoverned world. "His kingdom ruleth over 
all/' Ps. ciii. 19. "The Most High ruleth in the 
kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he 
will." Dan., iv. 17. " Promotion cometh neither 
fi'om the east nor from the west nor fi'om the south. 
But God is the judge : he putteth one down, and 
setteth up another." Ps. Ixxy. 6. "Affliction cometh 
not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble sjoring out 
of the ground." Job, y. 6. " T\Tiom the Lord loveth 
he chasteneth and scoui^geth everj son whom he 
receiveth." Heb., xii. 6. "Who worketh all things 
after the counsel of his o^tl will." Eph., i. 11. 

God governs nature by fixed, uniform laws. He 
has made men free agents. In a way unknown to us, 
but neither by miraculous agency nor by infiinging 
on man's freedom, he exerts a controlling influence 
over all events. 

This controlling Providence should be at all times 
recognized. The neglect of this duty is thus rebuked 
by the Apostle, " Go to, now, ye that say, to-day or 
to-morrow we will go into such a city, and continue 



28 



CHBISTIAN ETHICS. 



there a year, and buy and sell and get gain : for that 
ye ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall live and do 
this or that." James, iv. 13. 

We cannot see hoio God can control all things 
without interfering with the operation of the laws of 
nature, or with human freedom. This does not 
disprove the fact that he does so. The fact is 
established, as we have seen, by his own testimony. 

It is oui^ duty to render implicit obedience to 
God's commands. "We should obey him because it is 
right to obey him. His commands are the expression 
of his will. His will is always right. It is as im- 
possible for his will to be wrong as it is for him to 
lie ; "It was imjDossible for God to lie." Heb., vi. 18. 
We have seen that we were made to do right : con- 
sequently we were made to obey God. 

We should obey him because he is our Creator, 
Benefactor, and Father, and is possessed of every 
conceivable perfection. The creature belongs to the 
creator. Of course, the creator has a right to govern 
the creature according to the nature given him. 
" Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, 
why hast thou made me thus?" Rom., ix. 20. 

We are dependent upon our Benefactor for Hfe 
and all things. We ought to do the righteous will of 
him on whom we are thus dependent. Children 
should do the will of their wise and loving Father. 

The fact that God will punish disobedience, is not 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



29 



the ground of our obligation to obey liim. That 
obligation is founded upon his character and the 
relations we sustain to him. It is not proper to say, 
" we must obey God, because he will punish us if we 
do not." To conform to his will through fear of 
punishment is not obedience. It is an act of prudence 
rather than an act of obedience. At least, it is not 
the obedience he requii'es. He requires a cordial 
obedience — loyalty of heart. 

It is our duty to do God's will at all times and in 
all circumstances. To disregard his will is to do 
T\Tong. It can never be right for us to do wrong. 
God requires perfect obedience. We are to "have 
respect unto all his commandments." Ps. cxix. 6. 
The New Testament does not lower God's claims to 
our obedience. "Be ye therefore perfect, even as 
your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Matt., 
viii. 48. 

Some seem to think that doing "pretty nearly 
right," will suffice. But we were made to do right 
and nothing else. Whenever we see that a thing is 
wrong, we know that we ought not to do it. Our 
moral nature makes no exceptions in favor of some 
acts of wrong doing. It does not decide that Uttle 
sins are not wrong. It requires us to avoid every- 
thing that is wrong. Thus the voice of our moral 
nature is in unison with the voice of God, when it 
requires perfect obedience. 



30 



CHRISTIAN ETHICS. 



It is our duty to cherish feehngs of reverence 
towards God. The fear of the Lord which is the 
beginning of wisdom, and which is so much insisted 
on in the Bible, is not a servile fear, but profound 
reverence. The Scriptures describe the angehc hosts 
as exhibiting the deepest reverence towards God. 
Isa., vi. 2. Eev., iv. 8. He commands us "to rever- 
ence his sanctuary." Lev., xix. 30. The apostle Paul 
defines acceptable service to be that "accompanied 
with reverence and godly fear.'' The first petition in 
the Lord's prayer, refers to this duty : " Hallowed be 
thy name." 

Eeverence is a feehng which the holy character of 
God is adapted to inspire. God makes no arbitrary 
requirements. His commands are always in the 
highest degree reasonable. When he commands us to 
reverence him, he simply commands us to exercise 
that feeling which his character rightly viewed is 
adapted to awaken in pure and loyal minds. Such 
minds we are under obhgation to have. 

Some human characters are so pure and august as 
to awaken reverence. "Who does not reverence the 
characters of John Jay and George Washington ? If 
we reverence the characters of men, much more 
should we reverence the character of God. 

Eeverence will lead us to avoid not only all pro- 
fanity but all light and irreverent use of the names of 
God. It is said that Sir Isaac Newton always made a 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



31 



reTerential pause before pronoimcing the name of God. 

There are forms of expression in someTvliat com- 
mon use, ^hicli savor of irreverence and should be 
avoided. The exclamations. Gracious I Mercy I Good- 
ness ! and the like, are abridged expressions in T^hich 
the name of God originally occuiTed. They may be 
regarded as elliptical oaths and should therefore be 
avoided. 

Reverence tvlLL lead us to avoid all trifling vdth 
sacred things, all levity and indecorum in connection 
Tvith the pubhc worship of God, all sportive allusions 
to solemn religious facts, all ludicrous applications of 
passages of Scriptu':e. 

A rehgious character in vrhich reverence is lacking 
is very defective, if it be not radically unsound. A 
burning zeal, and great apparent devotion to works 
of benevolence, will not atone for the want of rever- 
ence which is the natural result of right views of the 
divine character. 



CHAPTEE IV. 



LOVE TO GOD — CONFrDENCE HIS TESTIMONY, PKOMISES, 

AND CHAEACTER EEASONABLENESS OF FAITH. 

It is our duty to love God. " Thou shalt love the 
tlie Lord tliy God witli all thy heart, and with all thy 
thy soul, and with all thy might." Deut., vi. 3. 
Christ declares this to be " the first and great com- 
mandment/' Matt., xxii. 38. 

To love God with all the heart and soul and 
might, is to love him supremely, and as intensely as 
the constitution of our nature will allow. 

Throughout the Scriptures, the duty of loving God 
is set forth with great variety of expression. Lov^ is 
said to be " the fulfilling of the law.'' Eom., xiii. 10. 

When it is said that love is the fulfilling of the 
law, the meaning is not that the exercise of the emo- 
tion or affection of love is a substitute for the various 
actions required by the law : the meaning is, that 
when one loves God supremely, love will spon- 
taneously prompt him to do all God's will. The sense 
of obligation will be merged in love. 

The affectionate child loves to do his parent's wilL 
Obedience is rendered not from fear, nor out of re- 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



33 



g:rd to antliority, but from loye. Such should be the 
relation of the soul to God. 

Our obUgation to love God is founded on the in- 
finite excellence of his character, and on the relations 
he sustains to us. God is holy. " I, the Lord your 
God, am a holy God.'' Lev., xix. 2. Holiness em- 
bodies all moral perfection. "As your Father which 
is in heaven is perfect." Matt., v. 48. 

All who admit the existence of God, agree in 
ascribing to him all possible perfection. He is infi- 
nite in knowledge, wisdom, justice, goodness, and 
truth : in other words, he is infinitely lovely. 

If he were not infinitely lovely, we could not be 
under obhgation to love him with all the heart. Yv^e 
were made to love excellence, and nothing else. 

Hence, when God commands us to love him with 
all the heart, the command is not an arbitrary one. 
He simply tells us to exercise our hearts — our emotive 
natures, as they were made to be exercised. If he 
were to tell us to admire the rainbow or the star-lit 
sky, he would tell us to do a very natural thing ; for 
we were made to admire beauty. So also we were 
made to love excellence. The command to love God 
with all the heai^t is in perfect keeping with the 
original constitution of the human mind, and the 
character of God. 

Our obhgation to love God rests also on the 
relations he sustains to us. He is our Heavenly 

2* 



34 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



Father, and all his acts towards us are in keeping 
with that relation. The father who performs all 
his duties towards his child, is worthy of love and 
honor. 

God "giveth us richly all things to enjoy." 1 Tim., 
vi. 17. " Like as a father pitieth his children, so the 
Lord pitieth them that fear him.'' Ps. ciii. 13. God 
so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, 
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, 
but have everlasting life." John, iii. 16. 

Thus, from the relations he sustains to us, and the 
manner in which he has treated us, we are bound to 
love him. We should love him, " because he first 
loved us." 1 John, iv. 19. 

To love is to be happy. To love with all the heart 
a perfect object is to be perfectly happy. When God 
commands us to love him with all the heart, he is 
simply commanding us to be as happy as the consti- 
tution of our nature will permit. 

Love is not voluntary. We cannot love any one 
by willing to do so. Our control over our affections 
is an indirect control. We can awaken love by con- 
templating truths adapted to produce it, just as we 
awaken the emotion of beauty by contemplating ob- 
jects adapted to awaken it. 

It is our duty to have confidence in God — in his 
declarations, his promises, and in his character. 

We should imphcitly believe his testimony. The 



CHEISTIA^T ETHICS. 



35 



Bible contains his testimony to many truths that rea- 
son cannot reach. A large part of oiu' Imowledge in 
respect to God and a future life is gained from the 
testiminT of God. We put fall confidence in the tes- 
timony of such a man as Washington. If we can 
thus pnt full confidence in the witness of man, the 
witness of God is greater.'''" John, t. 9. 

We are not required to beheve without evidence, 
that the Bible contains the testimony of God — that 
the Bible is the word of God. It must first be 
proved that the Bible is the word of God. This 
being proved, it is reasonable to believe every- 
thing it contains, because it is impossible for God 
to lie. 

The evidence that the Bible is the word of God is 
abundant. To set forth that evidence does not come 
within the scope of this work. There are many able 
treatises on the subject. 

The fact that we may not be able fully to compre- 
hend a proposition, is no reason for not beheving it, 
provided it rests on the testimony of God. An as- 
tronomer may mahe a statement to a child. The 
child may be unable to understand it, but has no 
right to reject it as false. 

We must distinguish between the incomprehen- 
sible and the contradictory and absurd 

It is oiu' duty to exercise perfect reliance upon 
the promises of God. There are some men on whose 



36 



CHKISTIAN ETHICS. 



promises we rely. Our reliance is founded upon a 
knowledge of their characters. Our reliance upon 
God's promises is founded upon a knowledge of his 
character. "We know that he is true and unchange- 
able and omnipotent. Hence his promises will surely 
be performed. All distrust of God's promises dis- 
honors him. It is practically charging him with 
falsehood. You would consider it an insult to distrust 
the promise of a perfectly honorable man. What is it 
to distrust the promises of the God of truth ? 

Many of God's promises to us are conditional. If 
we fail to receive the blessings promised, it is because 
we fail to meet the required conditions. 

We should have perfect confidence in the charac- 
ter of God, that is, we should have perfect faith in 
God. This will cause us to feel perfectly sure that all 
that he does is wise, and just, and good. 

A wise parent often does things which his child 
does not and cannot understand. The child should 
not call in question the wisdom and kindness of his 
parent. He should have confidence in him. 

The infinitely wise and holy God does many things 
which we do not understand. We should not call in 
question his wisdom or goodness. We should have 
perfect confidence in him. We should feel perfectly 
sure that all he does is right, whether we can see it to 
be so or not. 

To have confidence in God is to have faith in God. 



CHPJSTIA^" ETHICS. 



37 



Faith is not sometliing distinct fi'om reason — some- 
thing opposed to reason. It is the most reasonable 
of all things. "What is more reasonable than to be- 
heve what God says, to trust his promises, and to 
rely upon his character ? "What is more reasonable 
than faith ? 



CHAPTER V. 

PRAYER — PENITENCE — SUBMISSION A FOEGRTNG SPIRIT 

OBJECTS OF PRAYER THANKSGIVING AND PRAISE. 

It is our duty to pray to God. "We are dependent 
upon him for life and all things. It is reasonable that 
the child who is dependent upon his father should 
ask him for the things he needs. It is reasonable that 
the child who has disobeyed his father should ask his 
forgiveness. God has commanded us to pray, and 
has promised to answer our prayers. " Call unto me 
and I will answer thee.'* Jer., xxxiii. 3. " He will re- 
gard the prayer of the destitute." Ps. cii. 17. " He 
heareth the prayer of the righteous." Prov., xv. 29. 
Christ says, " Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye 
shall find, knock and it shall be opened." Matt., 
vii. 7. "The fervent effectual prayer of a righteous 
man availeth much." James, v. 16. 

AVe are to pray, beheving that we shall be heard, 
if we ask according to his will." 1 John, v. 14. 

"We are not to expect miracles in answer to prayer. 
A miracle is a direct exercise of the divine power — an 
act not in accordance with the laws of nature. How 
God can, in answer to pra^^er, bring about events 



CHEISTIA.N ETHICS. 



39 



without interiering Tvitli the hiws of nature, we do not 
know. He declares that he has done so, and u^ill do 
so. When God says he will do a thing, we must not 
reiiise to beheve him, because we do not know how he 
will do it. 

It is objected, that it is unreasonable to suppose 
that the omnipotent and omniscient Pailer ot the 
Universe can be iniiuenced by the prayer of a weak, 
ignorant mortal. The question is a question of fact. 
Has God said that he will hear prayer? If he has 
said so, all suppositions respecting the reasonableness 
or unr-eascn:.'.. _c'^css of the fact are out of place. 

It is objected that the enicacy of p^rayer is incon- 
sistent with the unchangeableness of God. If prayer 
ca"; ' " :'m to do what he would not otherwise do, 
it ^.-.../..jzS a change in him. He is no longer un- 
changeable. 

To this it may be replied, that the unchangeable- 
ness of God relates to his character. His character 
is unchangeable. He always acts on the same holy 
piinciples. He does to=day what he did not do yes- 
terday, and will do to-morrow what he does not do 
to-day ; but there is no change in the principles on 
which he acts. Some seem to confound unchange- 
ableness with inactivity. Eightly Auewed, it will be 
seen that his imchangeableness will not prevent his 
answering such prayers as are offered according to 
hi.3 will 



40 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



It is said, God does not need information as to 
our wants. He knows all things, and is infinitely wise, 
and has his plan for conducting the affaii^s of the 
universe, and will not turn aside from it to meet the 
wishes of individuals. 

No doubt our Heavenly Father knoweth that we 
have need of these things. No doubt he is infinitely 
wise, and acts on an infinitely wise plan ; but it may 
be a part of that plan to do certain things in answer 
to prayers offered according to his will. It is a part 
of his plan, for he has said so in his holy word. 

The Bible records many examples of the efficacy 
of prayer. "Elias was a man subject to like passions 
as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not 
rain ; and it rained not on the earth by the space of 
three years and six months. And he prayed again, 
and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth 
her fruit." James, v. 17. 

Many persons in all ages have from their own ex- 
perience borne testimony to the fact, that God hears 
and answers prayer. 

There have been men who, under the influence of 
excited feeling, imagined they received answers to 
prayer, when they did not. This does not weaken 
the testimony of wise and sober men. 

The duty of prayer involves the duty of penitence. 
Prayer must be accompanied by penitence and con- 
fession. 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



41 



God commands " all men everywliere to repent." 
Acts, xvii. 30. " Repent ve, and believe the Gospel." 
Mark, i. 15. Calls to repentance abound in the 
Scriptures. 

It is reasonable that Tve should repent. We have 
all sinned, and ought to be sorry for our sins. Ee- 
pentance is sorrow for sin. True repentance is such 
a sorrow as makes the subject of it desire to avoid all 
sin in future. Fear of punishment is not repentance. 
Remorse of conscience is not repentance. Sorrow for 
sin for its own sake, and because it was committed 
against our Heavenly Father, accompanied with a 
desire to avoid sin altogether, is repentance. 

The child has transgressed the commands and 
injui'ed the feelings of his father. He is sincerely 
sorry for it, and earnestly desii^es forgiveness, and 
fully purposes never to repeat the act of transgression. 
That child is penitent. When we have similar feel- 
ings towards our Heavenly Father, we are penitent. 

Penitence is the condition of pardon. "If my 
people which are called by my name shall humble 
themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from 
their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and 
will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 2 
Chron., vii. 14. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful 
and just to forgive us our sins." 1 John, i. 9. 

Penitence is an appropriate condition of mind for 
application for pardon. If a man has done wrong, 



42 



CHRISTIAN ETHICS. 



and has no sense of the wrong done, and is not sorry 
for it, and has no desire to avoid repeating it, there is 
no propriety in his asking for pardon. Under such 
circumstances, an appHcation for pardon would rather 
be an insulting than an humble petition. Penitence 
does not atone for sin. Penitence does not merit for- 
giveness ; but it is the required and appropriate con- 
dition of forgiveness. Forgiveness is an exercise of 
mercy. Mercy is favor shown to the undeserving. 

We must pray with faith, that is, with confidence 
in God's promise to hear and answer prayer. The 
prayer of faith is the prayer of one who impHcitly 
trusts the promises of God. 

Confidence in God's promises does not require us 
to beheve that every specific petition will be granted. 
God's ^^I'oniises are conditioned upon our asking in a 
proper spirit, and for objects that are according to his 
will. We may ask amiss and not receive, and yet his 
promise shall hold good. 

Some think they must beUeve that they shall re- 
ceive the specific thing asked for. They are about to 
pray for the recovery of a friend who is seriously ill. 
They endeavor to beheve that he will recover ; because 
they regard this belief as the condition of efi'ectual 
prayer. They do not succeed ; for belief does not fol- 
low the bidding of the will, that is, we cannot believe 
a thing by willing to beheve it. Behef requires evi- 
dence, and where evidence is wanting, there can be 



CHKISTIAN ETHICS. 



43 



no real belief. This error originated in a remark of 
Christ) relative to the faith of miracles. 

We must pray with submission. Prayer without 
the spirit of submission is dictation. The child who 
is confident that his parent knows better than he 
does what is for his good, asks in submission to his 
father's better knowledge. He desires what he asks 
for, provided his father thinks it is best for him to 
have it. 

This is the attitude of mind with which we should 
approach God in prayer. He knows what is best for 
us, and for the interests of truth and righteousness. 
We should desire nothing which he does not see that 
it is best for us to have. Christ closed the most 
earnest prayer, perhaps, that was ever offered on 
earth, with " not my will, but thine be done." Luke, 
xxii. 42. 

It is our duty to pray with a forgiving spirit. It 
is unreasonable for one who desires forgiveness for 
the wrong he has done, to cherish hostility to those 
who have injured him. Christ illustrates this duty 
and the reasonableness of it by a striking parable. 
" Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a 
certain king who would take account of his servants. 
And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought 
unto him which owed him ten thousand talents. But 
forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded 
him to be sold, and his wife and children and aU that 



44 



CHKISTIAN ETHICS. 



he had, and payment to be made. The servant there- 
fore fell down, and worshipped him saying. Lord, have 
patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the 
Lord of that servant was moved with compassion, 
and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 

" But the same servant went out and found one of 
his fellow servants which owed him an hundred 
pence : and he laid hands on him, and took him by 
the throat saying. Pay me that thou owest. And his 
fellow servant fell down at his feet and besought him 
saying. Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 
And he would not, but went and cast him into prison 
till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow 
servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, 
and came and told their Lord all that was done. 

" Then his Lord after that he had called him, said 
unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all 
that debt, because thou desiredst me. Shouldst not 
thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, 
even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was 
wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he 
should pay all that was due unto him. 

" So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto 
you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his 
brother their trespasses." Matt., xviii. 23-35. "But 
if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will 
your Father forgive your trespasses." Matt., vi. 15. 

A forgiving spirit is not inconsistent with a just 



CHEISTIAX ETHICS. 



45 



regard to our rights of person and property, and the 
enforcement of the laws of the land. 

It is om^ duty to pray for the pardon of onr sins, 
for wisdom and strength to do the will of God, for 
the blessing of God upon oni' enterprises and labors, 
for the happiness and prosperity of others, and for the 
extension of God's kingdom. These are the general 
topics for prayer. The Apostle gives dh'ection that 
prayer be offered in connection with everything that 
concerns us. Be careful for nothing ; but in every- 
thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving 
let youi^ rec[uests be made known unto God.'*' Phil., 
iv. 6. 

It is oui^ duty to pray for the influence and aid of 
the Holy S^Duit. Qui' moral powers are weakened by 
reason of sin. We need an influence fi'om without to 
give us as^Du^ations for excellence and to aid us in 
using the means for acquii-ing it. The Scriptui^es 
clearly teach that a divine influence is exerted U|Don 
the mind, leading it towards perfection. How this 
influence can be exeiied without interfering with 
man's fi^eedom as a moral agent, we do not know. 
We know the fact on the testimony of God. This 
influence is commonly exerted in connection with the 
truth. The mind is enabled to see the truth more 
clearly, and is rendered more susce^jtible to the im- 
pression it is adapted to make. 

The Holy Spirit is represented as a teacher, com- 



46 



CHKISTIi:^ ETHICS. 



forter, inspirer of love to God and of prayer, and 
sanctifier of the soul. The gift of the Svirit thus 
includes the greatest of blessings. This gift is pro- 
mised to those ^ho desire it. "If ye, being e\il, 
know how to give good gifts to your childi-en, how 
much more shall your heayenly Father give the Holy 
Spiiit to them that ask him." Luke, xi. 13. 

It is our duty to render to God thanksgiving. 
That it is our duty to be grateful for benefits receiyed 
is a self-evident truth. Thanksgiving is the appro- 
priate expression of oui' gTatitude. The Scriptui'es 
insist on this duty. " Offer unto God thanksgiving." 
Ps. 1. 1-4. " Giving thanks always for all things unto 
God and the Father, in the name of oui' Lord Jesus 
Christ." Eph., v. 20. 

Connected with thanksgiving is praise. Injunc- 
tions to praise abound in the Scriptiu^es. " Sing unto 
the Lord with thanksgiving." Ps. cxlvii. 7. " Speak- 
ing to yourselves in psalms and hymns, and spiritual 
songs, singing and making melody in your heart to 
the Lord." Eph., v. 19. Praise is represented as one 
of the employments of heaven. 

Does not the duty of singing praise to God in- 
volve the duty of learning to sing, just as the duty of 
studying God's word involves the duty of learning to 
read ? Should not vocal music as well as reading be 
taught in our schools ? 



CHAPTES YI. 



STUDY OF THE BIBLE — ADYAXTAGES. 

It is our duty to study the word of God. This 
duty is inyolved in that of studying the character of 
God. It is, indeed, involved in all the duties that 
have been mentioned. Still, its importance is so great 
that it is proper to give it separate consideration. 

God has written a book for oui^ benefit. Hence it 
is oui' duty to study it, and to seek to derive from it 
all the benefit it was intended to convey. 

The Bible gives us knowledge of infinite value, 
which could be obtained fi'om no other souixe. It 
makes known to us truths concerning God, which we 
could never learn fi^om nature, nor fi'om the highest 
exercise of reason. Xatui^e teaches us that God is 
infinitely wise and powerful, but is he infinitely just ? 
The mere suspicion of injustice on the part of God, 
would throw a pall of darkness over the universe. 
But natui^e cannot assui^e us that God is just. 

In order that we may infer, from a man's actions, 
that he is perfectly just, all his actions must be con- 
formed to the law of justice. If some of his actions 



48 



CHKISTIAN ETHICS. 



are just and some of tliem unjust, we cannot infer 
that lie is a perfectly just man. If some of his actions 
appear to be unjust, we cannot be certain that he is a 
perfectly just man. 

In like manner, all the indications in nature 
in regard to the justice of God must point in one 
direction, or we cannot conclude from them that God 
is perfectly just. 

Now what are the indications ? They are twofold. 
There are many examples, in the works of Provi- 
dence, of the wicked punished and the righteous 
rewarded. These indicate justice on the part of God. 
But there are many examples of an opposite charac- 
ter. The wicked are often prosperous even to the 
close of life. The righteous are often oppressed and 
afflicted all their days. These facts do not indicate 
justice on the part of the Governor of the world. If 
we were left to the Hght of nature, we could come to 
no certain conclusion in regard to the justice of God. 
But the Bible removes the difficulty. It reveals a 
future world of retribution in which all men shall be 
rewarded according to the deeds done in the body. 
It assures us that God is perfectly just. 

In hke manner, the indications of nature in regard 
to the benevolence of God are, taken as a whole, equi- 
vocal. Benevolence tends to produce happiness. 
Some of the arrangements of nature tend to promote 
happiness, and some tend to promote misery. There 



CHBI.STIAX ETHICS. 



49 



are the sunshiae. the delightful breeze, and the re- 
freshing shower. There are also the stcria, the 
pestilence, and the earthquake. From some of these 
indications, we should infer benevolence on the part 
of theii' author. From others, we should infer 
malignity. We need hght fi'om above to enable us to 
reconcile all the indications of nature with the bene- 
volence of God. This Hght the Bible furnishes. It 
shows us that all suffeiin^ is the conseouence of sin, 
— the result of a system cf justice to be perfected 
hereafter. It assui'es us of the infinite benevolence 
of God. 

Xatiu'e can give us no assui^ance that pardon can 
be had on repentance. The truth that pardon can be 
had, eveiy member of the human family is interested 
in knowing. Eveiy one knows that he is a sinner. 
Every one knows that he needs forgiveness ; but the 
Bible alone informs him how it may be obtained. 

In natur e there are some indications which suggest 
the possibility of severing the connection between the 
violation of God's law and the penalty attached to the 
violation. The transgi'essor of the laws of health, if 
he reforms and takes remedies in season, may recover 
fi'om the elfect of his transgi'essions. This suggests 
that the transgressor of the moral law, may by timely 
repentance and reformation escape the penalty. 
There are other violations of physical law, which are 
invaiiably followed by their penalties. Sever the 

3 



60 



CHKISTIAl^ ETHICS. 



jugular vein and death is certain. No acts of repent- 
ance can, in such cases avert the penalty. May not 
the same be true of violations of the moral law? 
There are some indications in nature which suggest 
the possibility of pardon, -^there are more which 
point in the direction of inflexible justice. 

We need therefore the light of revelation to teach 
that God is merciful and gracious, forgiving iniquity, 
transgression and sins,— that sinners can be forgiven 
for Christ's sake. "Even as God for Christ's sake 
hath forgiven you." Eph,, iv. 32. "In whom we 
have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness 
of sin." Eph., i. 7. 

Hence the Bible should be studied, because it 
teaches truths of infinite value which cannot be 
gained from any other source* 

The Bible should be studied, because it has a 
tendency to develop and purify all our powers. It 
is a mistake to suppose that it tends to improve our 
moral powers only. It has a tendency to improve our 
intellectual, and social, as well as our moral nature. 

All our powers are improved by exercise. The 
Bible has a tendency to exercise all our powers, and 
hence, to improve them. 

The Bible contains a system of truth, just as 
nature contains a system of truth. It requires care- 
ful study to discover it, and that study improves the 
mind. 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



51 



Tlie facts from wliicli the science of astronomy is 
cleriTed appear, at fii'st " iew, to have very little con- 
nection Trith each other. It took centimes of ob- 
servation before the system which underlies those 
facts and shows that they belong to one harmonious 
whole, was discovered. 

The facts of the Bible fr'om which the science of 
theology is derived, seem at fii'st view to have but 
little connectioiL They lie scattered as it were 
throughout the Bible. There are facts of history and 
biogi'aphy, proverbial maxims, songs of praise, pro?- 
phecies, and precepts. T\lien carefully studied, a 
connected system is evolved, and all the various facts 
of the Bible are found to be parts of one harmonious 
whole. The study of systematic truth, especially 
when that truth relates to the highest and most im- 
portant themes with which the mind can hold con- 
verse, must be improving to the mind. 

Again, the mind is improved by coming in contact 
with minds of power. The boohs which it is most 
profitable to read are not those which convey the 
largest amount of information, but those that are 
instinct with power. In reading the work of a 
superior mind, the mind of the reader comes in 
contact with the mind of the wi'iter and receives a 
portion of his power. 

Kow in studying the Bible, the mind comes in 
contact with the divine mind. If to bring the mind 



62 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



in contact with a powerful human mind be productive 
of benefit, much more must it be so to bring it in 
contact with the divine mind ! If the benefit of 
communion with a human mind be in proportion to 
the power of that mind, how great must be the benefit 
of communing with the infinite mind ! 

The object of revelation is to restore the soul to 
its original perfection. A well developed intellect is 
necessary to a perfect soul. Hence the Bible is, as 
we have seen, adapted to develop the intellect. It 
is also adapted to develop taste, or the power of per- 
ceiving and enjoying beauty. There are, in the 
Bible, many passages of unequalled beauty and 
sublimity. 

It is also adapted to exercise the imagination. 
Witness the imagery of some of the Hebrew prophets, 
and especially that of Saint John in the Revelation. 

It is also adapted to exalt and purify our affec- 
tions. It makes the exercise of love pervade all our 
duties. It sets before our affections an object of 
perfect loveliness in the character of our Heavenly 
Father. In short, it is perfectly adapted to form 
wisdom, strength and beauty of character, — to render 
us perfect men in Christ Jesus. It is therefore 
infinitely more worthy of study than any other volume. 

The Bible should be studied, not kept as a talis- 
man, nor formally read as a mechanical exercise. It 
should be studied with reverence, but the same rules 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



53 



of interpretation slioulcl be applied to it as to other 
books. We are to search the Scriptiii^es. To honest 
and vig'orous exercise of mind, there should be added 
prayer for divine illumination. Open thon mine 
eyes that I may behold wondi^ons things out of thy 
law." Ps. exix. 18. 

In studying the Bible it is important to notice the 
relation between its doctrines and its precepts. Some 
endeayor to separate them, when, in truth, they are 
inseparable. Some regard the precepts as haying a 
closer relation to practice, and hence as more im- 
portant. They do not regard the doctrines of the 
Bible as haying any relation to practice. 

The doctrines of the Bible are to its precepts, what 
the principles of arithmetic are to its practical rules. 
The doctrines are the principles whence the precepts 
are drawn. TVe need to understand the doctrines in 
order to understand the reasons of the precepts. 

The study of the Bible should be accompanied 
with deyout meditation. To know what the Bible 
teaches is one thing : to have its truths influential in 
dii^ecting our actions and moulding our characters is 
another thing. That truths may be thus influential, 
the attention of the roind must be long and steadily 
directed to them. 



CHAPTER Vn. 



CULTUEE AND CARE OF THE BODY LAWFUL RELAXATIONS 

SELF-DEFENCE. 

God made man for a certain end. It is man's 
duty not to defeat that end. He should endeavor to 
be what God made him to be. God made him to 
be a man. He has therefore no right to be a brute. 
It is his duty to be a man. It is his duty to do every- 
thing in his power to realize the idea of a perfect 
manhood. 

Man is composed of body and mind. They are 
mysteriously united and exert a reciprocal influence 
on each other. A feeble and diseased body often 
enfeebles the action of the mind. A disordered mind 
often produces bodily disease. Both must be in a 
healthful condition, both must be properly developed 
in order to a perfect mind. 

A well developed body is of more consequence 
than is commonly supposed. The body is the instru- 
ment of the mind. If the instrument is out of order, 
the skill of the agent may be lost. This shows that 
those are in error who think it a duty to cultivate the 



CHRISTIAN ETHICS, 



55 



mind, but regard the culture of tlie body as op- 
tional. 

It is our duty to become acquainted with the 
structure of our bodies, because this knowledge is 
necessary to an intelligent care of them. Intimately 
connected with a knowledge of the structure of our 
bodies, is a knowledge of the laws of health, that is, 
the rules we should follow in order to avoid disease. 

Our bodily powers are developed by exercise. 
Activity and industry are necessary to the healthful 
growth of our bodies, — necessary to the development 
of bodily strength. Hence habits of inactivity and 
idleness are wrong. 

Activity must not be continued to the point of 
hurtful exhaustion. Excessive industry is wrong ; 
for it uses up the staple of life before the time. 

It is our duty to avoid all intemperance in eating 
and drinking. Gluttony as well as drunkenness is a 
vice, and a debasing one. God has rendered eating 
and drinking pleasant, but the pleasures thus occa- 
sioned are incidental to the nourishment of the body. 
"We were made to eat that our bodies may be nour- 
ished, not for the sake of the pleasure of eating. 
The epicure makes that an end which was designed 
to be incidental to the pursuit of a higher end. 

All excess in eating and drinking tends to injure 
the health and enfeeble the mind. All injurious 
articles of food and drink should be avoided. Duty 



56 



CHRISTIAN ETHICS. 



requires the moderate nse of useful and lawful 
tliingSj and entire abstinence from hurtful and unlaw- 
ful things. 

No one has a right wilfully or through careless- 
ness to injure his health. Health is necessary to a 
discharge of the duties of life. We have no right to 
incapacitate ourselves for performing the duties of 
hfe. We have no right to render ourselves unable to 
pay our debts by casting our money into the fire. 
No one has a right to say, "my body is my own and 
I can neglect or abuse it if I choose to do so.^' 

It is our duty to avoid such amusements as are 
injurious to health and morals. It is lawful to take 
relaxation and enjoy amusements. The bow is not 
always to be bent. The human mind cannot long 
endure continued vigorous exertion. There are 
legitimate amusements. There are legitimate social 
enjoyments. God has made us social beings. The 
perfect example of Christ authorizes us to be present 
at the marriage gathering and at the hospitable board. 
But lawful amusements and enjoyments may be 
indulged in to excess. In regard to these things, 
the voice of reason and of revelation unite in saying 
to every one, " Do thyself no harm.'' God prohibits 
those things only which are injurious to ourselves 
or to others. 

It is our duty to avoid all unnecessary exposure 
whereby our health may be impaired, and, when it is 



CHRISni^r ETHICS. 



57 



impaii'ed. to use the remedies best adapted to restore 
it. Hence it is oiu' duty to have recoiu^se to the pre- 
scrijjtions of men of science and skill, and not to those 
of quacks and imposters. 

If it is oui^ duty to take cai^e of our health, much 
more is it oui' duty to take care of our Hves, 'We 
have no right to do anything that shall needlessly put 
oui' hves in peril. 

It is om^ duty to defend oui'selxes against laTvless 
violence. Christ did not teach the doctrine of non- 
resistance. Wlien he said, ''If any man smite you 
on one cheek, tium the other also,'"' he did not intend 
to teach a doctrine which gives impunity to violence. 
He did not mean to forbid self-defence, or an appeal 
to the protection of the lavrs. He meant to inculcate 
a forbearing spirit, and to forbid a retaliatory spirit. 
To forbid seh'-defence vrhen the emergency recjuii^es it, 
and to forbid efforts to bring the violators of la^v to 
just punishment, would be to give society over to the 
vicked — vrould be to a.uthorize anarchy. Xo one can 
beheve that Christ intended to teach such doctrines. 

That we have a right to defend ouivselves fi^om 
lawless violence, when an appeal cannot be made to 
the protection of the Law, is a self-evident trTtth. We 
instinctively exercise seK-defenee, and conscience ap- 
j^roves the act. that is, we see that it is right. 

This principle does not authorize us to resent and 
planish every insult^ or to punish such personal 



68 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



wrongs as can be referred to a legal tribunal. Goy- 
ernment is for the punishment of evil doers, and to it 
should thej be handed over, except when the emer- 
gency requii^es instant defence. 

It is sometimes our duty to suffer wrong, without 
even a^Dpeahng to the laws for redress. Chiist's ex- 
ample teaches us that we are sometimes silently to 
suffer wrong, and to commit our cause to Him who 
judgeth righteously.'' But if a lawless attempt is 
made to take our life, it is our duty to defend it, even 
at the expense of the life of our assailant. In such 
a case, the right and duty of self-defence would be 
clear. 



CHAPTEE Vm. 



DISCrPLINE AXD DE\T:L0PME^'T or IMTN'D SELF-CONTEOL 

ANGEE. 

It is oiu- cliity to develop and discipline our minds^ 
so that they may be efficient instruments for perform- 
ing the work given iis to do. Every one sees that it 
■would not be right for iis to dwarf oiir bodies or 
paralyze oiu^ hmbs, so that they would be unfit to per- 
form their functions. On the same principle, it would 
be wrong for us to dwarf our minds, thus unfitting 
them for accomplishing what they might otherwise 
accom^Dlish. Mental power is far more important and 
valuable than bodily power. It is a much greater 
wi'ong to allow it to run to waste. 

Oui' mental, like oui^ bodily powers, are developed 
by exercise. The object of education is not so much 
to acquire knowledge as to develop power. One may 
have a gi^eat deal of knowledge and very little power. 
Of course, he can do but httle. Knowledge is power 
only as it prompts to exertion, and gives a right direc- 
tion to it. 

Xo one can develop and discipline the mind of 
another. He can tell him how to do it, but each one 



60 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



musfc do the work for himself. Every one must edu- 
cate himself, if he is educated at all. 

The degree of cultui'e which each one is under ob- 
ligation to bestow upon his mind, must be determined 
by the circumstances in which he is placed. 

It is our duty to train our minds to perceive truth 
clearly. Man was made to act wisely. A knowledge 
of the truth is necessary to wise action. Action fi'om 
false principles cannot be wise action. A man who 
goes into the manufacture of giinpowder on erroneous 
chemical principles, or rather in ignorance of the true 
chemical principles which underlie the art, will be 
almost certain to fail. If he succeeds, his success will 
be accidental. In like manner, he who enters upon 
any department of effort, in ignorance of the facts and 
principles concerned, cannot pursue a wise and effi- 
cient course. 

It is our duty to train our minds to an accurate 
perception of truth in relation to duty. Our great, 
in truth, our sole business here is to do duty. We 
must know oui' duty in order to do it. Ignorance of 
duty will not excuse us from doing it, unless that 
ignorance be invincible. 

It is oui' duty to acquii^e accurate knowledge, so 
far as it is possible, in regard to all subjects, in rela- 
tion to which we are called to act. "\Miere positive 
knowledge cannot be acquired, it is our duty to form 
as accurate opinions as possible. Our action in rela- 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



61 



tion to a given subject will, if we act as rational be- 
ings, be determined by our knowledge or opinions in 
relation to that subject. Hence, if we are responsible 
for our actions, we are responsible for the opinions 
that determine the character of our actions. 

Our powers were given us for action— for wise ac- 
tion. Action can be wise only as it is in accordance 
with truth. If a man undertakes to be an agricultur- 
ist, his labor will be effective only as it is put forth in 
accordance with those rules and principles which 
experience has shown to be true. He has no right 
to waste labor by doing that which will bring about 
no valuable end. It is duty to acquire the knowledge 
necessary to render his labor productive. 

Suppose it to be one's duty to visit with dispatch 
and economy certain cities in Europe. It would be 
his duty to acquaint himself with the relative position 
of said cities, and of the best modes of conveyance. 
If in any case accurate knowledge cannot be acquired, 
he must do his best to form as accurate an opinion as 
possible. For example, if there are two lines of travel, 
each claiming certain advantages, he may not be able 
to learn which is absolutely the best. In view of the 
conflicting claims, he may be able to form an opinion 
as to which is best — he may not be able to acquire 
actual knowledge. It is his duty to form as accurate 
an opinion as possible, since his opinion must deter- 
mine his action. 



62 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



It is tlie statesman's duty to promote ttie best 
interests of his country. In order that he may frame 
wise measures, he must have an accurate knowledge 
of the condition and wants of the country. So far as 
his knowledge is inadequate, his action is liable to 
be unwise. If it be wise, it will be wise only by 
accident. 

In many cases, his conduct must be determined by 
his opinions. That those opinions should, as far as 
possible, be correct, is too plain to require argument. 

It thus appears that in every sphere of action, men 
are under obhgation to acquire accurate knowledge 
and form accurate opinions. 

The only exception that has been claimed relates 
to the acquisition of rehgious knowledge and the for- 
mation of rehgious opinions. On this subject many 
unsound assertions have been made. It has been 
affirmed that men are not responsible for their reh- 
gious behef, and that a correct belief is a matter of no 
consequence. It is sometimes said that it is no mat- 
ter what a man's behef is, if his practice be right. 
This imphes that there is no connection between 
behef and practice, whereas we have seen that, if we 
act rationally, our action will be as our behef. 

A moment's reflection will show that there is the 
same connection between knowledge and action, in 
relation to religion, as there is in relation to other ob- 
jects. We cannot do oiu' duty to God unless we know 



CHRISTIAN ETHICS. 



63 



that God exists, and that lie sustains certain rela- 
tions to us. If we have inaccurate ideas of God, we 
must of necessity have inaccurate ideas of duty 
towards him. We cannot know our duties in relation 
to Christ's mission, unless we have accurate know- 
ledge of the nature of that mission. 

The Bible is the source of a large amount of posi- 
tive knowledge. There are some things so clearly 
revealed that we may be said to know them. There 
are statements in the Bible, the meaning of which are 
not perfectly clear to us. In regard to these, we have 
behefs rather than knowledge. Those behefs are often 
as influential, and necessarily so, as our knowledge. 
Hence it is important that they should be correct. 
Hence it is our duty to use all the means in our power 
to form correct behefs. If through carelessness in the 
examination of evidence, or through the influence of 
prejudice, we form erroneous opinions, and are thus 
led to perform wrong actions, we are responsible both 
for the actions and the opinions. "VVe were made to 
do right. 

It may be asked, suppose a man is perfectly 
sincere in his erroneous behef, and acts in accordance 
with it, will not his action be accepted as right ? 

Consider the matter in the light of analogy. Sup- 
pose a man owes A a sum of money. He meets B, 
and mistakes him for A., and hands him the money. 
He designs to pay his just debts. He designs to do 



64 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



riglit. Has lie discliarged his obligation to his 
creditor ? Will A accept his sincerity in Heu of the 
money due him ? 

Suppose a man sincerely beUeves it to be his duty 
to worship an idol, will God, on account of his sin- 
cerity in error, acccept that worship in lieu of the 
worship due to himself ? 

His sincerity would lessen his guilt, but would not 
remove it altogether — would not change wong into 
right. To worship an idol, knowing it to be his duty 
to worship God, would indeed be a far gi^eater sin, 
than to worship an idol under the behef that he was 
doing right. 

Correct religious knowledge is, therefore, impor- 
tant, as the directory of religious duty. Correct 
knowledge without reference to practice is of no 
value. 

It is our duty to dehver our minds from the power 
of prejudice. Prejudice interferes with the accui'ate 
perception of truth. If we have a prejudice in favor 
of a proposition, we receive it as a truth on a very 
small amount of evidence. If we have a prejudice 
against a person, we readily beheve a statement to his 
disadvantage. The only department of truth, free 
from the influence of prejudice, is mathematical 
truth. 

To free our minds from the influence of every 
kind of prejudice is a difficult task. It must be done, 



CHEISTIAy ETHICS. 



65 



or we cannot liaTe acciu^ate percejDtions of tnitli and 
duty. 

It is oin' duty to train oui' minds to perceiye and 
enjoy beau":y. God lias given us power to jDerceive 
and enjoy beauty, and has scattered beauty profusely 
tlii'ougiiout his works. To tin^n away fi'om it with 
indiii'erence is to treat him with disrespect. 

The useml must ever claim the larger share of oiu* 
attention, but the beautiful must not be neglected. 
Beauty has its utilities. It is a souix-e of pui^e and 
elevated enjoyment. T\'hat are usually termed the 
pleasm^es of taste, — the pleasui^es resulting fi^om a 
jDerception of the beauties of natui'e and of the fine 
arts, are refining and elevating in then' infiuence. 
They are higher than the pleasures of sense, and 
inferior only to those resultmg fi^cm the exercise of 
oui' best afi'tctions on their proper objects. 

The love of beauty is not the love of holiness and 
must not be mistaken for it. The worship of beauty 
must not be substituted for the worsln^D of God. 

True rehgion has a tendency to form a beautiful 
character, and so far as it fails to do so, the failure 
must be owing to the want of a right apphcation of its 
principles. 

It is OUI' duty to conti'ol and subjugate our 
tempers. The excitement of passion renders clear 
perception and sound judgment impossible. The 
an^Tv man sees evervthinR thi'ou^h a distorted 



66 



CHEISTIAN EimCS. 



medium. He thinks he acts perfectly reasonable in 
all that he does under the promjDtings of his passion. 
When his passion has subsided^ he sees his folly. 
Anger interferes with the performance of all our duties. 
The apostle commands us to "lay aside all anger/' 
and not to let the " sun go down upon your wrath." 

He who cannot control himself, can never have 
any considerable degree of control over others. So 
far as a man is unable to control his temper, he loses 
the respect of his fellow men. " He that is slow to 
anger is better than the mighty ; and he that ruleth 
his spirit, than he that taketh a city.'' Prov., xvi. 32. 

Men differ greatly in their natural tempers. Some 
are calm and not easily moved, others are very sus- 
ceptible of angTy feehng. It is difficult for such to 
get perfect control of their tempers, but it can be 
done. It will requii^e time and effort, but it can be done. 

We can control our tempers by constantly trying 
to do it. The reason why some persons have no con- 
trol over theu' tempers will be found in the fact that 
they do not try to have any control. They do not try 
to restrain themselves. Occasionally, when in the 
presence of strangers, perhaps, they may put some 
restraint upon themselves ; but ordiaarily, they yield 
to every impulse of passion. 

We may not be able to prevent the rising of 
tem^Der, but we can avoid giving any expression to it. 
When anger prompts us to utter harsh words, we can 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



67 



keep our lips firmly closed. If we habitually refuse 
to give expression to a feeling, by word or deed, its 
strength will continually decay. 

It may be asked, is it ever right to be angry? 
The Bible says, "Be ye angry and sin not." Eph., iv. 
26. This would indicate that there is a kind of anger 
that is not sinful. God is said to be angry with the 
wicked. By this is meant his holy disapprobation of 
sin — his righteous indignation at wrong-doing. "We 
are so made, that we cannot help feeling indignation 
when we witness acts of injustice and cruelty. This 
feeling is right. 

Anger in its ordinary meaning is the perversion 
of that capacity of our nature that leads us to look 
with disapprobation and indignation at wrong-doing. 

The duty of self-control has respect to other feel- 
ings as well as anger. Our appetites are to be under 
our control. They were given us for certain purposes. 
They are to be kept within the limits they were 
designed to occupy. "Within those Hmits they are 
sources of lawful enjoyment. Paul said, "I keep my 
body under and keep it in subjection." 

AU our passions should be under the control of 
reason and conscience, that is, they should be 
exercised only when it is reasonable and right for 
them to be exercised. Just in proportion as a man is 
under the dominion of his passions, he approximates 
to the brute creation. 



CHAPTEE IX. 



EEGULATIO^" OF OUE DESIEES. 

OuB desii'es are tlie immediate causes of our 
actions. We never act unless we have a desii^e to do 
so. We may do tliat, which, in itself considered, we 
do not desire to do. The cause of oui' doing it may 
be a desire to avoid the consequences of not doing it. 
A child may not desii^e to go to school ; yet he goes, 
being led to do so by a desii^e to avoid the punishment 
that would follow his failure to go. 

Our deskes being thus the causes of our actions, 
the regulation of them becomes a very important 
duty. 

Some desh-es are original and some acquii^ed. Our 
original desii^es are those which are the result of our 
creation — which were implanted in our nati.ire by 
God. These are possessed, though in different degrees 
of strength, by all men. The desii'e of knowledge, of 
society, of property, of esteem, are original desires. 
All oui^ original desii^es are right when properly exer- 
cised. "WTiatever belongs to oui' natui'e as it came 
fi'om the hand of God, is right. 

There ai^e desires which are not common to all 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



69 



men. Tliej are acqubed by some men. The deskes 
for tobacco and alcoholic diinhs, are acquired desires. 
Some acquired desii'es are right and others ^vrong. 

Oui' original desires may be perverted and dii-ect- 
ed towards wrong objects, and lead us to adopt wrong 
means for their gi^atification : in such cases they be- 
come T\Tong. 

It is oui^ duty to cherish the desire for knowledge. 
The fact that this desii^e is given us, in connection 
with the capacity for knowing, shows that it ought to 
be gratified. " That the soul be without knowledge is 
not good." Pro v., xix. 2. 

This desii'e can be gTatified by turning our atten- 
tion to objects of knowledge. 

We should not allow this desii-e to lead us to at- 
tempt to know that which is beyond our powers. 
Our powers are Hmited. There are some things 
which we can know : there are some things which 
beings with higher powers can know, which we can- 
not know. 

We should seek to acquii-e useful knowledge. We 
are not to indulge an idle curiosity — a desire to know 
things that are in no way useful. Some sj)end theii' 
whole lives in laborious trifling — searching for knowl- 
edge which, when found, is of no use to them or to 
others. 

Useful knowledge is not confined to facts capable 
of apphcation to the ordinary pursuits of life. ^Tiat- 



70 



CHKISTIAN ETHICS. 



ever tends to expand, elevate, strengthen, and purify 
the soul is useful. 

There are knowledges which are injurious and de- 
basing. These should be carefully avoided. We can- 
not willingly increase our knowledge of evil without 
guilt. 

The desire for society is natural to man. Scarcely 
any punishment, short of death, is more severe than 
that of separating one entirely from the society of his 
fellow men. 

This desire should not lead us to associate with 
men simply to avoid solitude, or to pass away the 
time. We should seek the society of those whose in- 
fluence will be beneficial. Our social nature was 
given us that we might associate with the good — not 
with the evil. 

We are not to separate ourselves from the wicked, 
on the pharisaic principle, Stand by, I am holier than 
thou. We are to follow Christ's example, by minghng 
with all classes of men, for the pui^pose of doing them 
good. But when we would indulge the desire for 
society, we should select as our companions "the 
excellent of the earth." 

The desire of property is natural to man. God 
designed that men should produce and possess prop- 
erty, and hence implanted the desire of possession. 
Property, wealth, is necessary to the comfort of man, 
and is a necessary condition of civilization. The 



CHKISTIAN ETHICS. 



71 



leisure and means of mental and social improvement 
cannot be had, unless there is in the community a cer- 
tain amount of wealth. 

It is lawful to gratify this desire by the use of just 
and honorable means. Whenever it seeks gratifica- 
tion by unjust and dishonorable means, it has become 
perverted and wrong. When excessive, it leads to 
avarice, one of the meanest of vices. 

This desire must be subordinate to the desire of 
pleasing God and doing his will. " Seek ye first the 
kingdom of God and his righteousness." Matt., vi. 33. 

It may be asked, to what extent may this desire be 
indulged ? How long may a man continue to accu- 
mulate property ? 

So long as he conducts his operations wisely, and 
with strict integrity. So long as he pursues such a 
course, he will benefit others by his operations, and 
he may benefit himself so long as in so doing he 
benefits others. 

The desire of esteem is natural to man. A man 
must become very much debased before he can lose 
all desire of esteem on the part of his fellow men. It 
is doubtful whether this desire is ever wholly eradi- 
cated. 

It is right to seek the esteem of men by right 
means. It is right to seek it by rendering ourselves 
worthy of esteem. It is not right to seek it in any 
other way. 



72 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



This desire often becomes excessive. In many, 
tlie desii'e for popularity is so strong, that truth and 
honor are sacriJSced in its pursuit. The question such 
men ask is not, What is right ? but. What will secure 
popularity ? That which they think will please men, 
is substituted for that which will please God. "For 
they loved the praise of men more than the praise of 
God." John, xii. 43. 

The desire of excellence is a natural desire. Its 
direct tendency, when properly directed, is to our im- 
provement. It leads to emulation, but emulation is 
not necessarily evil. Paul appealed to this prin- 
ciple, when he w^as making pecuniary collections for 
the members of the church at Jerusalem. 

The desire of distinction is closely allied to the de- 
sire of excellence. It is lawful to seek for distinction 
by the use of honorable means. 

The apostle commends those " who by patient con- 
tinuance in well-doing seek for glory, and honor, and 
immortality." Eom., ii. 7. 

The love of distinction must not be a ruling mo- 
tive. It must be subordinate to the desire to do, in 
all things, the will of God. 

The desire of distinction, when not rightly regu- 
lated, leads to jealousy and envy. When the soul is 
under the dominion of jealousy and envy, all the 
nobler feehngs decay. No evil passion is more pain- 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 73 

ful to the person who exercises it, and more blighting 
in its effects upon the character. 

There is more envy in the hearts of men than they 
are wilhng to admit. Much of the criticism of char- 
acter which we hear is owing to envy, though it 
assumes the garb of justice. 

To guard against it, we should be careful to exer- 
cise an exact, if not generous justice towards those 
who are Hable to become to us objects of envy. If it 
give us uneasiness to hear one praised, let us take 
heed lest this vile passion find a lodgment in our 
bosoms. 

The desire of power is a natural desire. If indulged 
for selfish purposes it is wrong. It is not lawful to 
desire power for its own sake, or as an end. We are 
commanded to be strong in the Lord — strong to do 
the work he would have us do. 

The possession of power is a dangerous trust, and 
one liable to be abused. Few have possessed power 
over their fellow men without abusing it. 

The legitimate desire of power may degenerate 
into ambition. The question may be asked, is am- 
bition right? Is it lawful to cherish an ambitious 
spirit? The answer depends upon the definition 
given to the term ambition. Some speak of a holy 
ambition, but it is doubtful whether that is a proper 
form of expression. Ambition, as commonly under- 

4 



74 



CHEISTTAN ETHICS. 



stood, implies such a desire of advancement as may 
lead to the use of improper measures for its 'attainment. 

The desire for happiness is an original desire. 
There is, therefore, a lawful sphere for its grati- 
fication. 

Happiness is not something external to the soul 
like wealth. It is a condition of the soul. The 
question arises, how can this condition be secured? 
The answer must be derived from experience, and the 
teachings of God. 

G-od made us to be happy, or he would not have 
given us this desire. It is therefore our duty to be 
happy. But we must be happy in the way designed 
by him. We must not say "God made us to be 
happy ; the gi^atification of our desires yields happi- 
ness, therefore we are to gratify our desires." Some 
of our desires are to be gTatified and some are to be 
repressed. We must malce a distinction. 

It is a general fact or law of our nature that the 
gratification of desire is pleasant. The gratification 
of the desire for food or the desire for property is 
pleasant. So also the gratification of revenge, or 
the desire to injure one is pleasant. The gratification 
of our evil passions is pleasant for the time being. It 
cannot therefore be right for us to seek for happiness 
in the gratification of all our desires. 

Virtuous desires are in themselves pleasant, and 
pleasant in their gratification. Vicious desires are 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



75 



in themselTes painful, yet in their gratification 
pleasant. 

The soul as it came from the hand of the Creator 
had no eyil desires. The general law, that the grati- 
fication of desii'e is attended with pleasure, was there- 
fore an ap23ropiiate law. Xow when evil desires 
spring up in the soul, God does not repeal the original 
law with respect to the gratification of desne ; but 
he shows that he approves virtue and disapproves 
vice, by making the exercise of virtuous desii^es pleas- 
ant, and the exercise of vicious desii'es painful : and 
while the gi'atification of a vicious desii^e is followed 
by a momentary enjoyment, it is also followed by 
lasting pain. One feels hatred toward his neighbor 
and does him an injury. There is a momentary 
enjoyment connected with the gratification of his evil 
desire, but it is followed by a sense of gTiilt and 
remorse, which will be felt, at intervals at least, till 
the guilt be removed. 

Happiness is the result of the proper exercise of 
all our powers. It may be said that there is enjoy- 
ment in rest, bodily and mental. Trae, but rest pre- 
supposes exertion, and the rest yielding the highest 
happiness derivable fr'om rest, is the rest following 
the proper exercise of our powers. 

There is enjoyment resnlting fr'om the proxoer 
exercise of oui' physical powers. There is a higher 
enjoyment resulting fr'om the exercise of oui' intel- 



76 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



lectual and esthetic powers. There is still higher 
enjoyment resulting from the exercise of our affec- 
tions. Now as it is God's will that all our powers 
should be properly exercised, happiness will be 
secured by doing his will. He who loves God with 
all his heart and his neighbor as himself, is a happy 
man. He will be led so to exercise his powers as to 
secure the greatest amount of happiness attainable by 
man. God's will is a directory for the attainment of 
happiness. Human happiness is the incidental result 
of mailing the performance of God's will, the object 
of lif e. 



CiEAPTEE X. 



DUTIES OF THE FAMILY CIECLE. 

It is our duty to cultivate the affections whicli 
unite us with our fellow men. We are endowed with 
various affections, that is, we are capable of exercising 
different kinds and degTces of love towards those 
sustaining certain relations to us. It is of course our 
duty to develop and exercise these affections accord- 
ing to the design of him who made them a part of 
our nature. 

It is our duty to love, reverence, and obey our 
parents. We were the objects of parental love and 
care, before our powers were sufficiently developed to 
be aware of it. The tenderness and care that 
watched over our infancy, and ministered to the 
wants of later years, call for love and gi^atitude in 
return. Thus the duty of blended love and gratitude 
sj)rings from the relation we sustain to our parents, 
and from benefits bestowed by them. 

Love to parents is natural, spontaneous, but still 
it requires cultivation. It may be cultivated by 
reflecting on the parental relation, and on the kind- 



78 



CHBISTIAN ETHICS. 



ne53s received, and by reference to the authority of 
God. 

God has rendered us, in early life, entirely de- 
pendent upon our parents, and subject to their con- 
trol. His commandment is " Honor thy father and 
thy mother." Ex., xx. 12. And " Children, obey your 
parents in the Lord, for this is right." Eph., yi. 1. 
Hence we are under obligation always to treat our 
parents with marked respect and to obey them "in all 
things," that is in all things that are according to the 
will of God. The authority of God is higher than 
the authority of the parent. If the commands of a 
parent come in conflict with the commands of God, 
" we ought to obey God rather than men." 

T\Tien the child becomes of age, he is no longer 
under the authoritative control of the parent, but his 
obligation to love and honor him remains. If the 
parent is in want of assistance, it is the duty of the 
child to furnish that assistance, if it be within his 
power. Gratitude for benefits received requires it. 
God wills that children "requite their parents." 1 
Tim., V. 4. When the feebleness of old age arrives, 
parents should receive from children the tenderness 
and care which they themselves received in infancy 
and childhood. 

The affection of a child for his parent is of neces- 
sity modified by the character and conduct of the 
parent, A kind and loving parent receives more love 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



79 



than a harsh and unfeehng one. Some parents are 
more worthy of their children's love than others. 
However unworthy a parent may become, so long as 
the parental relation remains, there are duties spring- 
ing from that relation, and from those duties the 
child is not absolved. The conduct of the parent 
may cancel all obhgations to gxatitade, but some other 
obligations will remain. 

It is the duty of brothers and sisters to cherish 
an affectionate regard for each other, and to labor to 
promote each other's improvement and happiness. 
The intimate relations in which they are placed in the 
same family, and commonly beneath the same roof, 
render love a necessary condition of peace and har- 
mony, without which the object of God in constituting 
the family would be defeated. 

Affection depends, in a measui'e at least, for its 
continuance upon courtesy. As it is the duty of 
members of the same family to love one another, it 
follows that it is their duty to treat one another with 
courtesy. Constant famiharity has a tendency to 
cause a neglect of those forms of pohteness, which are 
intimately connected with the continuance of affection 
and growth in refinement. The forms of affection as 
well as of liberty, are essential to the reahty. 

All tendency to envy, jealousy, and susjDicion 
should be carefully gaiarded against by all the mem- 
bers of the family circle. In that cii'cle the law of 



80 CHKISTIAN ETHICS. 

love should be tlie supreme law. Tlien will the 
family be what it was designed to be by its author, 
one of the most beautiful objects on earth, and a 
nursery for heaven. 

It is the duty of parents to love, cherish, and pro- 
vide for the wants and the education of their children. 
Parents feel an instinctive affection for their offspring. 
This feeling was given by God to secure adequate care 
for children in the helplessness of infancy. He has 
made it the dufcy of parents to care for their children ; 
but to the obligations of duty he has added the 
prompting of instinctive and strong affection. It is 
their duty to strengthen and purify this affection. 
This may be done by faithfully doing that which affec- 
tion, regulated by reason, would prompt, by reflecting 
upon the condition and destiny of the child, and by 
striving to perform aU the parental duties required 
by God. 

It is the duty of the parent to provide for the 
physical wants of the child. The continuance of its 
life depends upon the care of the parent. To every 
parent to whom God gives a child, he says, by his 
providence, as Pharaoh's daughter said to the Hebrew 
mother, " Take this child away, and nurse it for me, 
and I will give thee thy wages." Ex., ii. 9. 

It is the duty of the parent to educate his children 
in the knowledge of God and of duty. This is incum- 
bent upon all parents. AU parents are bound to 



CHRISTIAN ETHICS. 



81 



bring up their children ''in the nuiiure and admoni- 
tion of the Lord." Eph. vi. 4. 

It is the duty of parents to teach by example as 
well as precept. Parental example is always more 
powerful than parental precept. The best instructions 
are often neutralized by defective examples. 

It is the duty of parents to provide for the intellec- 
tual and social education of their children. To what 
extent this culture must be caiTied is to be determined 
by the circumstances of the parent and the capacity 
of the child. It cannot be the duty of the day-laborer 
to do as much for the education of his childi^en as the 
merchant of large means. It cannot be a duty to fur- 
nish to one of very limited capacity the advantages 
which can be useful to those only of superior 
natui^al powers. 

It is the duty of parents to strive to make home 
pleasant to their childi-en. Childi^en seldom fall into 
irregular and vicious habits when they have a ha^Dpy 
home. Parents should not allow the cares of hfe to 
render them silent, and perhaps morose, at home. 
They must not only love and labor for their children ; 
they must sympathize with them. The great want of 
the young* heart is sympathy. To their parents, above 
all others, have they a right to looh for sympathy. If 
they do not find it at home, they will seek for it 
abroad. 

It is the duty of parents to shield theii^ children 
4* 



82 



CHKISTIAN ETHICS. 



as mucli as possible from evil influences. They shonld 
not, for the sate of worldly advantages, place them 
where they will meet with influences unfavorable to 
the formation of a virtuous and manly character. All 
are commanded to pray, " Lead us not into tempta- 
tion hence it is the duty of all to avoid unnecessary 
temptation, and to avoid leading others into tempta- 
tion. Especially is this the duty of parents with 
respect to their children. 

The affection which leads to the formation of the 
marriage relation is the highest form of human affec- 
tion. The relation that it introduces is the most inti- 
mate of earthly relations. "For this cause shall a 
man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his 
wife : and they twain shall be one flesh. Wherefore 
they are no more twain but one flesh. What there- 
fore God hath joined together, let not man put asun- 
der." Matt., xix. 5. 

It is the duty of the husband to love his wife with 
paramount affection, and to make her happiness his 
first care. It is the duty of the wife to reciprocate 
his affection, and to acknowledge him as her head. 
Eph. V. 23. 

The relation of husband and wife is entered into 
for Hfe, and it cannot be sooner ended without the 
incurring of guilt by at least one of the parties. The 
New Testament authorizes divorce for one cause 
only. Matt., v. 32. Laws which authorize it for 



CHEISTTAN ETHICS, 



83 



other causes, are not in accordance with the law of 
Christ. 

The affection nearest allied to those which exists in 
the family circle, is that of friendship. God has given 
us a capacity for fi'iendship and has furnished ex- 
amples of it in his word. It is a blessed capacity, 
one that may add greatly to the joys and lessen the 
sorrows of life. 

It is our duty to select our friends wisely, since 
they will of necessity exert a strong influence over us. 
We should cherish for them an unselfish affection ; for 
friendship is true only so far as it is disinterested. 
We should be faithful to their interest in subordina- 
tion to the will of God. The highest acts of friend- 
ship are those tending to render the character of 
one's friend more perfect. It is related of Jonathan, 
in the most beautiful instance of friendship ever put 
on record, that he went to David into the wood and 
strengthened his hand in God." 1 Sam., xxiii. 16. 
To promote one's spiritual perfection is the highest 
act of friendship. 



CHAPTEE XI. 



DUTIES OF BENEVOLENCE. 

It is our duty to exercise benevolence towards 
our fellow men— towards all men. We are to ''do 
good to all men as we have opportunity." Gal., vi. 10. 
To this end, we should cultivate a benevolent spirit, 
in opposition to a selfish spirit. All are liable to 
become selfish. Self-love, or the natural desire for 
happiness easily degenerates into selfishness. We 
must be constantly on our guard lest an undue regard 
to our own interest lead us to neglect the duties of 
benevolence. 

We should cherish sympathy for those who suffer. 
This is done by turning our attention to objects 
adapted to awaken sympathy. We cannot excite our 
sympathies by an act of will. We can excite them by 
considering cases of suffering. We can turn aside 
fi-om such instances, if we choose to do so. 

One reason why there is so little apparent feeling 
for those who are in distress is, that attention is not 
fixed upon cases of distress. Men are deeply inter- 
ested in their own pursuits, and do not feel for others, 



CHRISTIAN ETHICS. 



85 



becanse thej do not think of them. Hence it is our 
duty to seek out those who are in distress. We are 
not to wait till the objects requiring sympathy force 
themselves upon our attention. We are to seek them 
out. Sorrow should have an attraction for us, as it 
had for Christ. 

Our sympathies must be carried out in action. 
We should not content oui^selves with feeling com- 
passion for those who suffer ; we must reheve them 
so far as it hes in our power. True sympathy followed 
by wise action is true benevolence. 

We should also cherish an interest in the welfare 
of those who are not in distress. They are the chil- 
dren of our common rather, and hence we should 
not feel indifferent to them. Benevolence would lead 
us to desire the happiness of all. We should desire 
and endeavor to exert a good influence on all with 
whom we come in contact. 

Our first duties are towards those with whom we 
are most intimately connected. But we are under 
obligation to do good to our neighbors as well as to 
our relatives. Christ defines our neighbors to be 
those who need the aid w^e are able to bestow. Dis- 
interested benevolence, though not the sum of all 
duty, is nevertheless a very important duty. 

It is our duty to give alms to the poor. This is 
plain from the structure of our natiu^e and the com- 
mand of God. 



86 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



Indisciiminate almsgiying is not a duty. Give 
to every man that asketh of thee/' Luke, vi. 30, is not 
to be understood literally. Men are not to be sup- 
ported in idleness and yice. It is our duty to give to 
the poor, not to impostors. We are not at liberty to 
give to the wily impostor that which should be given 
to the necessitous poor. Careful discrimination 
should be exercised. 

The apostle declares that if a man will not work 
neither shall he eat. Those who by their industry 
can supply their wants, have no claims upon our 
charity. ^\Tien there is any capacity for labor, relief 
should, if possible, be given through the medium of 
labor. 

The duty of almsgiving is modified by the pro- 
vision made by the state and by benevolent institu- 
tions for the relief of the poor. 

The unworthiness and ingratitude of some to 
whom we may have given aid, does not affect our 
obligation to bestow alms upon those who are really 
in want. Our heavenly Father does not withhold 
from us his daily bounties because we fail to exercise 
suitable gratitude. 

One of the best methods of aiding the necessitous, 
is to help them to help themselves. To put one in 
the way of supplying his own wants is far better for 
him, than to supply his wants without requiring from 
him any exertion. 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



87 



It is our duty to instruct the ignorant and to 
endeavor to reclaim the erring. To benefit the soul 
is a greater Trorh than to benefit the body. In fact, 
the former includes the latter. Make an ignorant 
and vicious man intelligent and moral, and you 
furnish the conditions of improvement with reference 
to his outward estate. 

Experience has shown that to bring individuals 
and communities under the controlling influence of 
religious principle is the most efficient means of pro- 
moting their happiness and prosperity. "We have 
seen intemperate and otherwise immoral men trans- 
formed into virtuous and useful citizens by the power 
of the gospel. We have seen communities and 
nations rescued from degradation and misery by the 
same power. Witness the changes wrought in the 
condition of the inhabitants of some of the Islands 
of the Pacific through the teaching of Christian 
missionaries. 

The law of benevolence requires us to do good to 
those who hate us. The reason of this hes partly in 
the fact that such a course has a greater tendency to 
disarm hatred than has force. The conquests of 
Christ's kingdom over evil are always conquests of 
love. 

It is our duty to love our enemies, — that is, we 
should be free from all malignant feelings towards 
them, and should desire to see them dehvered from 



88 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



their enmity and made happy. It is not required 
that we look upon their characters and conduct with 
complacency. It is not required that we love them 
as we love the virtuous and lovely. It is required 
that we cherish towards them a compassionate, for- 
giving, benevolent spirit. It is required that we 
follow the benevolent example of the Saviour. 

Benevolence requires us to practice self-denial 
for the sake of others. In order to do good to others, 
it is often necessary to deny ourselves enjoyments 
which would otherwise be lawful. 

Nature prompts parents to practice self-denial for 
the sake of their children. The friend often dehghts 
to deny himself for the sake of his friend. There is 
thus in the structure of the mind provision for self- 
denial. 

When we see a man foregoing some innocent in- 
dulgence, or voluntarily enduring suffering that he 
may relieve the suffering of others, we approve and 
admire the act. We regard it as a highly virtuous 
act. Now man was made to perform highly virtuous 
acts ; hence he was made to practice self-denial. 

Christ said, " If any man will come after me, let 
him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow 
me." Matt., xvi. 24. 

It is a mistake to suppose that self-denial inter- 
feres with or lessens our happiness. Those are the 
happiest who do the most towards making others 



CHKISTIAN ETHICS. 



89 



happy. The most self-denying men are the happiest 
of men. The self-denial practiced must be the self- 
denial required by duty, not the self-denial of asceti- 
cism. 

The amount of self-denial which one may be re- 
quired to practice, must be determined by the circum- 
stances in which he is placed. Let it be observed, 
that to abstain from doing wrong, is not to practice 
the self-denial of which we are treating. 

The law of benevolence requh'es us to cultivate a 
cheerful disposition. Cheerfulness promotes the hap- 
piness of those v/ith whom we associate. Cheerful- 
ness is like sunshine. "We have all known men whose 
presence was everywhere welcome, on account of their 
cheerful spirit and cheerful countenances. 

A gloomy, desponding man throws a chill over 
every circle that he enters. The happiness of a family 
may be greatly impaired by a want of cheerfulness on 
the part of a single member. 

If, then, it is our duty to endeavor to make 
others happy, it is our duty to cultivate a cheerful 
spirit. 

This is done, in the first place, by keeping a good 
conscience. No one can be cheerful while suffering 
from remorse. Then, if desponding thoughts enter 
the mind, they can be banished by turning our atten- 
tion to thoughts adapted to introduce cheerful 
thoughts. The gathering cloud of gloom may also be 



90 



CHRISTIAN ETHICS. 



dispelled by active efforts to do good. The imagina- 
tion must not be allowed to form gloomy images/ 
Tilings should be viewed as they are, and right views 
of God's providential government entertained. No 
one need be gloomy who has a heavenly Father 
pledged to supply all his wants, and who has declared 
that all things shall work together for his good. 
Eom., viii. 28. 

Benevolence requires us to cultivate kind and 
courteous manners. Many upright and kind-hearted 
men give pain by their imrefined and uncourteous 
manners. It will not do to say, if the feehng is right, 
the manner is of no consequence. Our duty is to 
have kind feehngs, and to give to them their appro- 
priate expression. We cannot do our duty to others 
by having kind feelings, and keeping them perfectly 
concealed — giving no expression to them. Neither can 
we do our duty by having kind feelings, and giving to 
them a very imperfect expression. We do our duty 
when we have right feehngs rightly expressed. The 
apostohc injunction is Be courteous." 1 Pet. iii. 8. 

God has given to man dominion over the brute 
creation. That authority should be exercised in ac- 
cordance with the laws of his moral nature. That 
dominion was given for certain ends, and it may not 
be exercised with reference to other ends. It was not 
given for the exercise of cruelty ; therefore he may not 
treat brutes with cruelty. 

2 



CHEISTIAX ETHICS. 



91 



Some portions of the animal creation may be used 
for food. Tlieir lives should be rendered as comfort- 
able and their death compassed with as little pain as 
possible. 

Some animals are given us as servants. They 
should be treated kindly. As they are not moral be- 
ings, they are not the proper subjects of rewards or 
punishment. Such severity may be practiced as is 
necessary to keep them in due subjection. To visit 
on them the outbursts of anger, in consequence of 
their following the promptings of their natur^e, is 
cruelly unjust. The fearful cruelty practiced on the 
brute creation is an awful exhibition of human de- 
pravity, and one of the mysteries of the divine gov- 
ernment. 

Noxious animals may be lavrfully destroyed ; but 
on what principle may harmless ones be destroyed for 
mere amusement ? 



CHAPTEE Xn. 



DUTIES OF JUSTICE— BIGHT OF PROPEETT SELLERS AlH) 

BUYERS. 

It is our duty to be just to our fellow-men. That 
we ought to act justly is a proposition that needs no 
proof. That justice ought to be done is a self-eyident 
truth. 

Justice requires us to respect the right of property, 
We have seen in a former chapter, that the desire of 
property is natural to man — that God gaye man this 
desire, and placed him amid circumstances favorable 
to its gratification. Man was, therefore, designed by 
his Maker to be a holder of proxoerty — has a right to 
hold property. 

Men may become lawfully possessed of propei-ty in 
yarious ways. That which is wholly the product of a 
man's own labor belongs to him. Men may thus ac- 
quii-e a right to property by labor. The law secures 
this right, but does not originate it. The right exist- 
ed preyious to any human law. This right may be 
modified by the law. For example, the law may pre- 
scribe the mode in which the right shall be exercised, 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



93 



and the mode in which it may be transferred to 
another. 

Property may be acquired by appropriation, which 
is only a form of labor. The fi'uit growing on an 
uninhabited island belongs to those who may see fit 
to gather it. Before it was gathered, it belonged to 
no one. It becomes property by the act of appropria- 
tion. The fish in the ocean do not belong to the hu- 
man family collectively. Before they are caught, they 
belong to no one. ^Tien caught, they are the prop- 
erty of the captor. The act of appropriation is not 
vahd, when exercised upon objects that have been pre- 
viously appropriated and not abandoned. 

Property may be acquired by purchase, that is, one 
may exchange the products of his labor for the pro- 
ducts of the labor of another ; by gift and by in- 
heritance. 

The right of property may be violated by robbery, 
theft and fraud. The duty of avoiding robbery and 
theft need not be insisted on in this treatise. No one 
claiming to be a moral man ever contended for the 
right to rob and steal. Kor has any one ever de- 
fended the lawfulness of fi-aud. Yet there are modes 
of fi^aud sometimes practiced and defended by those 
who profess to do right. Frauds most fi^equently 
take place in the operations of buying and seUing. 

It is the duty of the seller to make known to the 
purchaser the real quaUty and condition of the article 



94 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



offered for sale. If lie sells a damaged article as a 
good one, lie of course defrauds the purchaser. If lie 
preserves silence in regard to the article, the trans- 
action is still a fraudulent one. He ma}^ say, I did 
not recommend the article ; I did not say it was not 
damaged ; the purchaser had it before him ; he was 
not compelled or urged to buy it ; if he has not got 
what he wanted it is his own fault all this will not 
lessen his guilt. The sale was a fraudulent one. 

It is the duty of the seller not to take advantage 
of a man's ignorance, and sell him an article less 
valuable than the one called for. It often happens 
that the purchaser is not a judge of the goods he is 
about to purchase. He designs to purchase the first 
quality but is unable to distinguish the first from the 
second. If the seller takes advantage of his igno- 
rance, and sells him the second for the first quality, he 
cheats him to the amount of the difference in value 
between the first and second. 

The seller has no right to sell adulterated articles 
knowing them to be such, when the buyer thinks they 
are pure. 

As a matter of fact, the adulterating process is 
carried on very extensively. Some articles can rarely 
be obtained pure. In consequence of the wide pre- 
valence of the practice, many do wrong without any 
compunctions of conscience. Nevertheless, when a 
man calls for ground pepper, and receives a mixture 



CHUISTIAN ETHICS. 



95 



of pepper and buckwheat bran, lie is defrauded. It 
is no excuse for the seller to say that the custom of 
selling adulterated goods is well nigh universal. The 
uniyersality of a fact does not change its moral 
character. 

The seller has no right to take advantage of the 
necessities of the buyer, and, in consecjuence, to exact 
a higher price for the goods sold. In such cases the 
buyer consents to give the price asked under comjoul- 
sion, just as the traveller consents to part with his 
purse to the highwayman. 

The seller is under obhgation to have exact 
weights and measures, and to know that the cj[uantity 
sold is actually dehvered to the buyer. If the weight 
or measure fall short, he cannot excuse himself by 
saying, ''I bought it for that amount." The buyer 
has a right to demand the quantity paid for. 

The seller has no right to make a false impression 
upon the mind of the buyer in regard to the condition 
of the market. It is possible for him to do this -with- 
out making any false statement, and the buyer may 
be thereby led to purchase to his disadvantage. If 
he is led to beheve there is a scarcity in the market 
when there is not, his action may be quite difierent 
fi'om what it would otherwise have been. 

A man of large means may not secure a monopoly 
in regard to a certain commodity, in order to raise 
the price higher than it would be if there was a com- 



96 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



petition of sellers. A man has a right to purchase as 
much of anj commodity in market as he chooses. 
The rectitude of his conduct depends upon the use 
which he makes of the commodity purchased. If 
after having purchased all the market contained, he 
exacts a higher price than the article would command 
in a fair market, he takes advantage of a necessity 
created by his own voluntary act. This is especially 
the case if the article in question be one of the neces- 
saries of life. If it be not one of the necessaries of 
life, and men choose to purchase it at his enhanced 
price, he has taken advantage of his capital to realize 
a higher profit than could be reahzed by the ordinary 
modes of trade. If this be not absolutely wrong, it 
is, at least, ungenerous towards those of lesser means. 

Sup230se a merchant imports an article on which 
he realizes a very high profit, in consequence of the 
fact that no other person imports the article. He 
enjoys a monopoly of it. Suppose another merchant 
imports the article and that the former then sells the 
article at a price lower than it cost to import it — his 
previous high profits enabhng him to do so. He thus 
destroys the value of the property of his rival in order 
to preserve his monopoly. It is said that some claim- 
ing to be honorable men pursue the course thus in- 
dicated. 

Suppose a man runs a stage-coach between certain 
places. He has, for the time being, the monopoly of 



CHRISTIAN ETHICS. 



97 



the business of transporting passengers. By and by, 
another person procures a coach and proposes to 
carry passengers. The monox3ohst, in order to pre- 
serve his monopoly, goes and destroys the new 
coach. His conduct could not be defended. Where- 
in does the conduct of the importer above supposed 
differ in principle from that of the stage-coach pro- 
prietor ? 

If a merchant have goods in his possession, and 
the price of the same rises in the market, he is justi- 
fied in adv ancing his price in proportion to the rise. 
If the price falls, he must make a corresponding de- 
duction, even if by so doing he should suffer loss. 

Suppose a merchant has an article for sale, and he 
knows that on the morrow a large quantity of the 
article will reach the market and reduce the price. 
Is he at liberty to conceal his knowledge and sell at 
the market price of the day ? If he put his customers 
in possession of his knowledge, they would not buy 
but wait for the certain fall in price. Is he under 
obhgation to communicate his knowledge, or may he 
reap the advantage of it? May the advantage be 
regarded as the legitimate reward of his superior 
enterprise and skill in acquiring knowledge in ad- 
vance of others ? 

It would certainly be wrong for him to avail him- 
self of that knowledge, if he had taken any measures 
to prevent his customers from acquiring it. If he has 



98 



CHRISTIAK ETHICS. 



not done so, is lie not entitled to the benefit resulting 
from his superior activity and enterprise? It cer- 
tainly cannot be the duty of the industrious and skill- 
ful man to share equally with the indolent and stupid 
the advantages of his industry and skill. 

The duties of the buyer correspond to those of the 
seller. It is his duty to pay a fair price for the article 
bought, that is, to allow the seller to make a fair profit 
as a compensation for the use of his capital and for 
his skill. He has a right to buy where he can buy the 
cheapest ; but he has no right to endeavor to get an 
article below its real value. He has no right to de- 
ceive the seller as to the state of the market, so as to 
induce him to lower his price. 

The buyer has no right to take advantage of the 
necessity of the seller. The latter may be under the 
necessity of raising a certain sum of money by the 
sale of goods by a certain time. The former know- 
ing this, may decline purchasing, except at a ruinous 
sacrifice on the part of the owner. 

It is not, in all cases, wrong to purchase goods be- 
low their actual value. When there is no fraud in 
the transaction, when there is no advantage taken of 
the seller's necessity, and when goods are lawfully 
sold by auction, there is nothing wrong in buying 
them at a price less than their cost or value. 



CHAPTEE Xin. 



DUTIES OF THE EMPLOYEE AND EMPLOYED. 

The relation of employer and employed is an im- 
portant one, and lies at the foundation of important 
and interesting duties. It was formerly designated 
by the terms master and servant ; but those terms 
have become distasteful to many, partly in conse- 
quence of the existence of slavery in the country. 
The relation must exist as long as society exists. 

The employer should treat the employed with ex- 
act justice. In making the contract, he should en- 
gage to render a full equivalent for the services 
required, or, in other words, fair wages. He must 
not take advantage of the ignorance or the necessities 
of the laborer, and secure his services for less than 
their market value. 

The rate of wages in a community will be deter- 
mined by the wants and means of employers, and the 
number of candidates for employment. The matter 
will, in a great measure, regulate itself. It will do so 
effectually, if there is no selfish and unprincipled in- 
terference with the natural course of things. As 



100 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



things are, the lowest possible wages that will secure 
labor is not always the wages that should be paid, 
that is, the actual rates are not always the equitable 
rates. The principle laid down by Chiist, that the 
laborer is worthy of his hire, should be remembered 
by every employer. 

A distinguished American ]\mst remarks : ^' The 
true rule is, a fair day's wages for a fair day's work ; 
and those wages are not faii^ unless they will support 
the honest and vii^tuous laborer in comfort, and leave 
something for the contingencies of life. The practice 
of putting down labor to a starvation rate, in order to 
enable the employer to undersell a competitor, is 
wrong, and will justify a rising feeling of discontent 
and injustice in the bosom of the employed. Unless 
such a rule is held sacred, labor must become reckless, 
vicious, and degraded ; one of the most fearful results 
for a country with a dense population and overgi'own 
towns and cities. There will gTOw u^^ feehngs of 
hatred in the bosom of the toiling many against the 
affluent few. There will justly seem to their minds 
something wi'ong in an aiTangement vrhich compels 
them to create wealth for the ease and indulgence of 
others, while they themselves are starving or suffering. 
There is, then, a law of proportion between capital 
and labor, which ought sacredly to be respected, and 
cannot be violated with safety, nor with impunity. A 
consciousness of injustice in the minds of the many is 



CHKISTIAN ETHICS. 



101 



a terrible tiling. Injustice cannot last always ; God 
will not permit it ; man will not permit it. 

^^Clieap goods are not the cliiei end of man ; nor is 
free competition the law of salvation for humanity. A 
thing is worth what it cost to make it, on the principle 
of paying labor a fair day's wages for a fair day's 
work, and capital a fair return. It is a sin to sell or 
buy at a less price. 

Let justice then enter the soul of him who em- 
ploys his fellow men ; let him so manage that they too 
shall have their fair wages, time and means to culti- 
vate their moral powers, to become enhghtened and 
virtuous and saving ; so that employer and employed 
may work together for noble ends b}' noble means. 
Such a relation between capital and labor cannot but 
develojD the noblest qualities, and the purest emotions 
of both ; esteem, and confidence, and love would form 
the bonds of union between them ; and both would 
become better, and purer, and holier, by this divine 
union between capital and labor ; — a union certain in 
the future, if humanity should ever become developed 
in its noblest capacities, and indispensable to the 
safety of capital itself, as well as to the well-being and 
dignity of the laborer."* 

The employer should exact no more labor than is 
consistent with the health and well-being of the labo- 



* Nash's Morality and the State. 



102 



CHBISTIAN ETHICS. 



rer. The brute may be required to labor all tbe time 
except that which is necessary for physical rest. - But 
man is not a brute. He has intellectual, social and 
moral Y/ants to provide for. He has a right to be a 
man, and hence a right to the time necessary to that 
end. When required to devote all his time to labor 
except that which is necessarily devoted to repose, 
he is deprived of his rights. There may be times and 
circumstances when it may be right for the employer 
to require those in his employment, thus to labor ; 
but, as a general rule, every one is entitled to a 
portion of his time to devote to higher objects than 
physical labor. 

The employer has no right to interfere with the 
exercise of the free will of the employed in relation to 
matters not included in the contract, and not conflict- 
ing with the law of right. He has no right to dictate 
where he shall make his purchases, how he shall vote, 
or what form of religious worship he shall adopt. 

Employers have no right to form combinations for 
controlling the rate of wages. Large capitahsts 
possess great facilities for so doing. If such com- 
binations are ever justifiable, it is when formed to 
resist the combinations of laborers to secure higher 
wages. Combinations of both kinds have an injurious 
influence and are wrong. Capitalists have greater 
facilities for secret combinations than laborers have. 

The employer should exercise kindness towards 



CHRISTIAN ETHICS. 



103 



the employed. Tlie law of beneyolence -written on tlie 
heart, and on the pages of the Bible applies first to 
those with whom we are most nearly connected. The 
toil of the laborer can be sweetened by the sympathy 
of his employer. His bui^den may be hghtened by 
acts of kindness easily performed. The fact that such 
acts may not always be appreciated is no reason for 
theii' not being performed. Our obhgation to practice 
benevolence is not found in man's capacity for grati- 
tude. 

Those employed should faithfully fulfil their con- 
tract with their employer. A contract to perform a 
certain amount of labor is a-s binding as a contract to 
dehver a certain amount of goods. The employer 
has a right to claim a certain amount of labor. The 
employed does not contract to give his time — but his 
time faithfully devoted to labor. . 

The employed should cherish a regard for the 
interest of his employer, and should not content him- 
self with a hteral fulfilment of his contract. It is his 
interest that his employer should be prosperous. All 
laborers have an interest in the prosperity of capital- 
ists. The greater the prosperity of capitalists, that 
is, the greater the amount of capital, the larger the 
fund for paying the wages of labor. An increase of 
cajDital in a country, the number of laborers remaining 
the same, will lead to an increase of wages. "WTien 
the laborer promotes the pros^oerity of his em23loyer, 



104 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



he pursues a course adapted to promote Ms own 
prosperity. Thus the law^ ''Thou shalt lova thy 
neighbor as thyself/' is a maxim of prudence, as well 
as a law of benevolence. It is binding alike on the 
employer and the employed. It is not an unreason- 
able, much less an impossible command. It simply 
requires that we cherish such an interest in the wel- 
fare of others as is adapted to promote our own 
highest interest and happiness. 

It is the duty of laborers to make no preten- 
sions to skill which they do not possess. In many 
cases, those requiring their labor are not capable of 
judging whether they possess the requisite skill or 
not. Theii' condition is analogous to that of the man 
who wishes to purchase goods of a certain quahty, 
but is not a judge of the quality. In neither case 
should the want of capacity be taken advantage of. 

The physician should acquire the knowledge and 
skill necessary to the practice of the healing art. 
Kindness, sympathy and assiduous attention are im- 
portant aids to his prescriptions, and hence should be 
practiced. It is the duty of the physician to merit 
the confidence of the patient, since confidence is one 
of the conditions of recovery. 

The physician possesses peculiar facilities for 
exerting a moral influence on his patients. This is 
one of the talents committed to him, for the exercise 
of which he wiU have to render an account. 

3 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



105 



The lawyer should not undertake a case which he 
is not competent to manage. He must possess skill 
enough to do all that he undertakes to do. 

The profession of the law, like the law itself, is 
designed to subserve the ends of justice. It should 
not be 2^erYerted to the perpetration of injustice. 

The lawyer may undertake the defence of one 
charged with crime, but to the end that he suffer no 
injustice, not that he may escape without punishment 
if he is guilty. The lawyer is sworn to j)roTe true to 
the interests of his chent ; but not at the expense of 
truth and justice. 

The professional laborer is not bound to follow 
the instructions of his employer. The physician is 
not to ask the patient what medicines he shall give. 
The law;\'er is not to ask the chent in what manner he 
shall manage his case. When a matter is committed 
to a professional agent, he is bound to manage it 
according to his best abihty. Before the matter is 
committed to him, he may act under instructions. 

The teacher should not undertake to do that 
which he is not qualified to do. Qualifications for 
the art of teaching are acquii^ed by study and ex- 
perience, just as qualifications for other arts are 
acquired. A man is not likely to acquire the quali- 
fications of a teacher while giving all his energies to 
preparing himself to practice law, any more than a 
man is hkely to acquire the skill of an engi^aver while 



106 



CHRISTIAN ETHICS. 



devoting himself to the art of making iron. The use- 
ful and the fine arts require preparatory study — an 
apprenticeship. The same is true of the most impor- 
tant of all arts, that of giving " form and pressure" to 
immortal minds. 

If the painter uses the wrong color, he can ob- 
literate it : if the engraver makes an inaccurate line, 
he can erase it : but impressions made upon the mind 
are made for eternity. Hence the responsibility of 
the teacher. Hence the importance of securing for 
the young mind at the outset, skillful teaching. 

The teacher should cherish a deep interest in the 
welfare of his pupil. His object should not be merely 
to communicate knowledge but to develop power. 
He should show his pupil what to do and how to do 
it. He should strive to make him a seer, and not a 
mere receptacle of facts. He should aid him in 
forming proper habits, and in making the mind what 
the Creator designed it to be. 

He should not only possess the knowledge requi- 
site to give information and supervise the studies of 
his pupils in the department in which he is called to 
give instruction, but he should possess a character 
worthy of imitation. Teachers as well as other men 
influence by what they are more than by what they 
say. 

The pupil should cordially co-operate with the 
teacher. In many instances the power of the teacher 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



107 



is in a great measure lost through the antagonistic 
attitude of the pupil. There should be co-operation, 
respect, affection, that the greatest benefit may result 
from the relation. 

The legislator is a professional agent. He is 
elected to do a certain kind of work for which he is 
presumed to possess the requisite skill. Hence he is 
not to obey the instructions of his constituents or a 
portion of them, but to act according to his best 
judgment. 



CHAPTEE XIV. 



PEESONAL LIBERTY — CHAEACTEK— EEPUTATION. 

Justice requires lis to avoid interfering with tlie 
natural liberty of our fellow men. The natural liberty 
of a man is not liberty to do wrong. He may do as 
he pleases provided he please to do right. So far as 
his fellow men are concerned, he is at liberty to do as 
he pleases provided he does not interfere with their 
rights. For his conduct in other respects, that is, for 
his conduct which is in no way injurious to others, he 
is responsible to God and not to man. 

No man may be deprived of this liberty, unless he 
forfeit it by the commission of crime. Government 
ma^', on his being convicted of crime, deprive him of 
his liberty, but individuals may not do it. 

Every man who has not forfeited his hberty by 
crime, is entitled to the product of his own lawful 
labor and capital. The government may, if necessary 
for the public good, take possession of his property, 
but is under obligation to make compensation for the 
same. For an individual forcibly to appropriate the 
product of his labor would be robbery. 



CHRISTIAN ETHICS. 



109 



God holds eyerv man responsible for "^hat lie 
does. To the end that he might 'justly hold him 
responsible, he endowed him with fi^eedom of will. 
Hence he must be allowed to act according to his ovm. 
free will, and not be compelled to act according to 
the will of another. A man may act foohshly or 
wickedly, but that does not authorize me- to compel 
him to act according to my will instead of his own. 
I have no right to deprive him of his fi^ee agency, 
because he sees fit to abuse it. 

The 2^arent may restrain the hberty of his child, 
so fai^ as may be necessary for his educational train- 
ing. It is the exercise of a power which God has 
bestowed upon the i^arent for the good of the child. 

To restrain the hberty of the idiotic and insane, ls 
not a yiolation of justice. Justice to others and bene- 
volence to them requii-e restraint in connection with 
treatment adapted to promote theii^ recovery and 
comfort. 

To restrain the hberty of a prisoner of war, is not 
a violation of justice. If war is lawful, and with 
respect to defensive war there can be no doubt, then 
it is right to take prisoners of war. The right to take 
prisoners, does not involve the right to deprive them 
permanently of their freedom. Justice requii'es that 
all unnecessary severity be avoided in theii^ treat- 
ment. 

Justice requu-es that we do no injury to the 



110 



CHRISTIAN ETHICS. 



character of others. Character and reputation are 
distinct. Character is the condition of one's- soul. 
Reputation is the estimation in which one is held by 
others. 

Character includes habits. When a man is form- 
ing habits, he is forming his character. The habits 
which he forms determine his character. As a man's 
happiness and usefulness depend more upon his 
character than upon any thing else, injury done to his 
character is a very serious matter. 

We may injure the character of others by our 
example. If our example leads any one to do wrong, 
an injury is thereby done to his character, and for 
that injury we are in a measure responsible. We 
may not have intended to injure any one, but that 
does not change the fact or relieve us from the 
responsibility of an evil example. We are responsible 
for our influence conscious and unconscious. A large 
part of our influence is unconscious influence. We 
influence by what we are — by our characters. Hence 
our characters should be such as are adapted to exert 
a healthful influence. 

The character may be injured by placing temp- 
tations before men, by directly influencing them 
to do wrong. This is sometimes done in mere 
thoughtlessness, and sometimes for selfish and mahg- 
nant purposes. 

No greater injury can be done than by leading a 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



Ill 



man to violate his conscience, that is, to act contrary 
to his conscientious convictions of duty. His views 
may be erroneous, but the effort should be to con- 
vince him of his error, not to lead him to act contrary 
to his moral judgments. It is far better to act in 
accordance with erroneous moral judgments, than to 
act contrary to them. Superstitious obedience, is 
better than defiant opposition to erroneous convic- 
tions of duty. The latter tends to the destruction of 
all moral principle. 

It would be regarded as doing one a great injury 
if we were to deprive him of a limb or an eye ; but 
this would be doing him far less injury, than to lead 
him into vice. Injuries done to the body are far less 
important than injuries done to the soul. 

There can scarcely be a baser act than the wilful 
ruin of a fellow being. Yet such acts are constantly 
taking place. This appears from the multitudes of 
unhappy beings who throng at night the thorough- 
fares of our cities, and revenge upon society the 
wrong of which they have been the victims. 

A powerful means of injury to the character are 
corrupting books and pictures. Those who issue and 
circulate such works, cause a ruin that can never be 
measured. Erroneous arguments can be met by such 
as are true, but corrupting appeals to the passions 
cannot be met by argniment. Hence the law, very 
properly, forbids the publication and circulation of 



112 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



corrupting books. Such laws do not interfere with 
the freedom of the press. 

The character may be injured by the inculcation 
of erroneous moral j^rinciples. He who lead-s another 
to adopt opinions radically unsound on rehgious and 
moral subjects, may do him ureparable injury. His 
character and conduct will, in a measure, correspond 
to his principles. Some men are better than their 
principles, and some are worse ; but in all cases, the 
principles of a man determine the nature of his char- 
acter. The importance of correct moral and religious 
principles cannot be too highly estimated. 

Justice requires us to avoid injuring the reputation 
of others. All utterances adapted to injure the repu- 
tation of a man are unlawful, unless we are called to 
bear witness to the truth. A man's reputation, how- 
ever acquired, is his property, and we have no right 
to lessen it, simply because we may think it unde- 
served. If justice to others, if the cause of tmth and 
righteousness require us to make statements, the 
effect of which may be to damage the reputation of 
some person or persons, those statements should be 
made. But they should not be made for the purpose 
of lessening that reputation, either because we think it 
gTeater than it ought to be, or because we are envious 
of it. Many criticisms claiming to be the utterances 
of justice, are, in reahty, the utterances of envy. 

Reputation is often injured through thoughtless- 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



113 



ness« A reinart may be made or a report repeated, 
vdih. no design to injure any one's reputation, and yet 
the injuiy may be done. Thouglitlessness does not 
free one from responsibility for liis conduct. 

We have no right to make public the faults and 
failings of others, unless requfred to do so by duty to 
some individual, or to the pubhc. "We have no right 
to ridicule others ; for by thus holding them up to 
contempt, we injure their reputation and influence. 

Slander is the utterance of falsehood res23ecting 
another, or the utterance of truth with a malicious in- 
tent. It is an act of cruel injustice, and one that is 
severely punished by municipal law. The evils re- 
sulting from this crime are great beyond description. 
The slanderer is the basest of men. 

Slander, in what may be termed its lighter forms, 
is very prevalent. The criticisms, depreciations, 
harsh judgments as to motives, which are so abundant, 
are all forms of slander. God's law in relation to this 
matter is veiy expHcit. ''Thou shalt not bear false 
witness against thy neighbor.'' Ex., xx. 16. 



CHAPTEE XV. 



DUTY OF VERACITY. 

God lias commanded us to speak the truth and lie 
not. Col., iii. 9. No duty is more insisted on in the 
Scriptures than reverence for the truth. All agree 
that lying is not only a vice, but one of the meanest 
of vices. 

It is our duty to speak the exact truth in all our 
business transactions. In no other way can justice be 
meted out and honesty preserved. Adherence to 
the exact truth in aU the intercourse of business 
would put an end to every species of fraud. 

It is our duty to speak the exact truth in our ordi- 
nary intercourse with men. Some are careful to speak 
the exact truth in relation to important matters, but 
are careless as to their statements concerning what 
they deem unimportant matters. Some, without in- 
tending to depart from the truth, fall into habits of 
exaggeration, and of coloring their statements highly, 
for sake of effect. Their motive is not to deceive, but 
to make their conversation interesting. But such 
habits ought to be carefully avoided. The truth is too 
sacred a matter to be trifled with. Those who thus 

4* 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



115 



trifle with it, soon become careless in their statements 
in regard to important matters. They fail to discrimi- 
nate clearly between the true and the false. They 
lose the confidence of their acquaintances. They are 
not regarded as men who intend to deceive : but they 
are regarded as men whose statements are not to be 
rehed upon. This is certainly a very undesirable 
reputation. 

Our duty is to speali the truth at all tipies, just as 
it is our duty to be honest at all times. He who is 
honest in all large business transactions, but, through 
carelessness or design, cheats in small matters, cannot 
be regarded as a perfectly honest man. To be a per- 
fectly honest man, he must be honest in all his trans- 
actions, however small, and in order to be a perfectly 
truthful man, he must speak the truth in regard to 
all matters, great and small. There are not as many 
perfectly truthful men as there ought to be. 

A falsehood or lie is the utterance of an untruth 
with the intention to deceive. A fictitious narrative, 
written or spoken either for amusement or as a vehicle 
for the communication of truth, is not a falsehood. 
There is no intention to deceive. Indeed, fiction may 
convey truth in the most impressive way. Fiction 
may be the intensest truth. The lawfulness and wis- 
dom of using fiction as the means of conveying and 
enforcing truth, is sanctioned by the highest possible 
authority, that of the Lord Jesus Christ. He spake 



116 



CHBISTIAH ETHICS. 



in parables. A parable is a fictitious narrative em- 
ployed for communicating truth. 

A statement may be strictly true, and yet tlie ut- 
terer may be guilty of falsehood. His intention may 
be to deceive. The statement may be verbally true, 
but with respect to the meaning intended to be con- 
veyed, or the impression intended to be made, it may 
be false. The moral character of an utterance de- 
pends mainly upon the intention of the utterer. 

Falsehood may be committed by silence, or rather 
by omitting to say what is necessary to the full under- 
standing of the matter in hand. A witness may make 
no statement but what is perfectly correct, and yet, 
by omitting a circumstance, his testimony may make 
an impression entirely adverse to the interests of truth 
and justice. Hence the oath administered to a wit- 
ness requires him to tell the whole truth. 

A falsehood may be acted as well as spoken. 
When by a movement of the limbs, or a look, with the 
intention to deceive, a false impression has been made 
upon the mind of any one, falsehood has been com- 
mitted, as really as if the false impression had been 
made by spoken or written words. 

Is a deviation from the truth — ^the utterance of a 
falsehood ever justifiable ? 

Suppose a man asks for information which he has 
no right to ask for, and which it will do harm for you 
to communicate. Suppose, for example, he asks for 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



117 



information which, if received, will enable him to in- 
jure an innocent person. Suppose that in declining 
to answer, you really give him the information that he 
wants. Have you a right to deceive him ? Have you 
a right to give him a false answer ? 

In war, has a general, fighting in a just cause, a 
right to deceive his enemy ? Has he a right to con- 
vey false information to the enemy ? 

The answer in both of these cases would rest upon 
the same principle. Has misinformation given in such 
circumstances the character of falsehood any more 
than the shooting of an assassin who attacks you has 
the character of murder ? Is not the act as far re- 
moved from a voluntary act of deception, as a blow 
in self-defence is removed from the malice prepense 
of murder ? 

Acting in this manner is not doing evil that good 
may come — a principle condemned by conscience and 
the word of God. It is not a voluntary departure 
from the truth. It may be said, " You can speak the 
truth ; you can give the information demanded, and 
take the consequences? So you may refrain from 
lifting your hand in self-defence, when the assassin 
assails you, and may take the consequences. The 
question is, whether in either case you are under ob- 
ligation to allow those consequences to follow. 

When on a certain occasion the Pharisees asked 
Christ a question designed to bring him into trouble, 



118 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



he stooped down and Tvi^ote on the gTOund as though 
he heard them not. And when they continued asking 
him, he gave them an evasive answer. This would, 
at least, indicate that we are not bound to answer 
questions having for their design injuiy to ourselves 
or others, in the same way that we are bound to an- 
swer legitimate questions. 

Lying is regarded by men as one of the meanest 
of vices. To call in question one's veracity is a 
giievous offence. And yet the precautions men take 
against deception indicate to what extent habits of 
truthfulness are wanting in the community. 

Young persons sometimes justify the practice of 
falsehood on the gTound of duty to their associates. 
A fellow student, for example, is guilty of some act 
that would subject him to censure or punishment. 
His friend, in order to screen him, bears false witness 
in his behalf. He regards it as an honorable act to He. 

To refuse to testify against an associate, is differ- 
ent from bearing false witness in his favor. Whether 
in a given case one has a right to refuse to testify, de- 
pends upon the engagement he may have formed with 
the party requii^ing the testimony, and the circum- 
stances in which he is placed. One cannot be placed 
in ciixumstances which shall make it right for him to 
do wrong. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



PROMISES AND OATHS. 

All promises are to be faithfully kept. A distinc- 
tion between important and unimportant promises 
ought not to be made, so far as keeping them is con- 
cerned. He who fails to keep unimportant promises 
is on his way towards failing to keep important ones. 

To avoid committing this fault, we should not 
make rash and thoughtless promises. Failure to keep 
any promise, however trifling, exerts an injurious in- 
fluence on our character, and tends to injure our rep- 
utation. There is felt a profound respect for a man 
who always keeps his promises, always does what he 
says he will do. It is in the power of every one to 
command this respect. 

Promises are always to be honestly kept. There 
is such a thing as keeping a promise to the ear and 
breaking it to the heart. A promise is to be perform- 
ed in the sense in which it was understood by the 
person to whom it was made, or at least in the sense 
in which he had a right to understand it. A person 
may be so stupid as to misunderstand a clear state- 



120 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



ment. The promiser is not bound to depart from that 
statement, because stupidity failed to understand it. 

Are promises obtained by fraud binding ? Suppose 
a man tells you he has saved the life of your most in- 
timate friend. In consideration of his supposed con- 
duct, you promise to give him a sum of money on the 
the morrow. In the mean time, you find that the 
statement which induced you to make the promise is 
false. He did not save the life of your friend. He 
had never seen him. The promise would not be bind- 
ing. It was in reality a conditional promise, and the 
condition on his part was not fulfilled. 

Is a promise extorted by violence obligatory? 
Suppose a robber threatens to take your life, and 
releases you on youi^ promise to send him a cer- 
tain sum of money : are you under obligation to keep 
your promise ? This case seems to come imder the 
same principle as the question, whether misinforma- 
tion may be given by an individual, or strategy prac- 
ticed by a military officer. No rule of universal ap- 
pUcation can be laid down. There may be cases in 
which it would be expedient to keep the promise. 
Paul makes a distinction between lawfulness and ex- 
pediency. Some things are lawful which are • not 
expedient, and some things may be expedient which 
are not obligatory. 1 Cor. vi. 12. 

Ought a promise to do a wrong thing to be per- 
formed ? Certainly not. It can never be right to do 



OHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



121 



wrong. If such a promise were obligatory, it would 
be right to perform it, that is, right to do wrong. If 
any one finds himseK in the position of having prem- 
ised to do a wrong thing, let him refiain from doing 
it, and repent of his promise. 

"WTien the performance of a promise is impossible 
the obHgation ceases, provided the impossibility was 
not occasioned by the Toluntary act of the party who 
made the promise. If the want of power to perform 
was occasioned by the voluntary act of the promiser, 
the obHgation remains. 

Contracts are mutual promises between two or 
more parties. The promises are conditional. The 
failui'e of one party to perform the conditions re- 
quired of him, releases the other party from ob- 
ligation. 

An oath is a solemn promise to tell the truth, with 
an appeal to God as the witness of oui^ sincerity. 
The violation of an oath is perjury. 

Some regard all judicial oaths as unlawful, because 
Christ said, ''Swear not at all." "Let your communi- 
cation be yea, yea, and nay, nay ; for whatsoever is 
more than these cometh of evil." Matt., v. 34-37. 

Christ forbade profane swearing. That he did not 
intend to forbid judicial oaths is plain from the fact 
that he allowed the High Priest to administer to him 
an oath. " I adjure thee by the Living God," Matt., 
xxvi. 63, was the Jewish form oi putting the oath, 

6 



122 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



Christ answered to the oath, " Thou sayest it.'' 
AgSbin, Tve have the example of God himseK. . "For 
■when God made promise to Abraham, because he 
could swear by no greater, he sware by himself.'^ 
Heb., yi. 13. Again, "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy 
God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name." 
Deui, vi. 13. 

Oaths ought never to be taken without great 
reverence. They are required too frequently by our 
laws and on too unimportant occasions. The effect 
is to lessen the reverence felt for the sanctity of an 
oath. 

Paley remarks that " the levity and fi^equency with 
which it is administered, has brought about a general 
inadvertency to the obhgation of oaths, which, both 
in a rehgious and pohtical view, is much to be 
lamented ; and it merits public consideration, whether 
the requiring oaths on so many frivolous occasions, 
especially in the customs, and in the qualification for 
petty offices, has any other effect than to make them 
cheap in the minds of the people. A pound of tea 
cannot travel regularly from the ship to the consumer, 
without costing half a dozen oaths at least ; and the 
same security for the due discharge of their office — 
namely, that of an oath — is required fi'om a church 
warden and an archbishop, from a petty constable 
and the chief justice of England." 

These remarks apply equally well to the regula- 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS, 



123 



tioBS respecting oaths in tliis country. The sin of 
irreverence is daily corcmittecl by tliciisancis in our 
land, in connection vritli tlie legal administering of 
oaths. 

Those who have conscientious scruples with re- 
specting to taking a judicial oath, are permitted to 
mahe an affii'mation. A judicial affirmation differs 
from an oath merely in name. A violation of an 
affirmation subjects one to the penalties of perjury. 

By the common law of England, those who do not 
beheve in God and in a futui^e state of rewards and 
punishments, are excluded from bearing testimony in 
courts of justice. 



CHAPTEE Xm 



ASSOCIATIONS AXD COEPOEATIONS. 

Associations may be formed for purposes consistent 
vrith. the law of rectitude. No association can be 
rightfully formed to do that which is wrong, or to do 
that which it would not be right for an indiyidual to 
do. Men in their associated cajDacity often do that 
which they would not do as individuals, but that is no 
proof that theii' conduct is right. Going with the 
multitude to do evil does not differ in xorinciple, from 
going alone to do evil. 

Xo man has a right to engage to act toward the 
members of his association in a manner inconsistent 
with obedience to the law of the land and the law of 
God. The rales formed by a Toluntary association of 
men, must not set aside the rules of God. 

An association formed for a laudable end, must 
use lawful means for the attainment of that end. It 
would be lawful and laudable in certain circumstan- 
ces, to form an association to promote the ends of 
justice by the prompt and faithful execution of the 
laws, but it would not be lawful to form an association 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS, 



125 



to promote the ends of justice by yiolations of 
law. The temporary or the permanent good which 
has seemed to follow the acts of such associations, do 
not justify their disobedience to law. Vigilance com- 
mittees and all associations proposing to take the 
execution of the laws out of the hands of its regularlj 
appointed ministers, are wrong. It is possible, indeed, 
that the ministers of the law may become wholly im- 
faithful to their trust and may use their power to pro- 
tect the guilty and injure the innocent. In such 
cases, the law of self-defence may justify resistance to 
the perjured minister of the law. This would be hay- 
ing recourse to the right of revolution. 

"When associations receiye, by the action of the 
gOYemment, a legal personaHty, they are termed cor- 
porations. The formation of corporations is lawful. 
They form a conyenient mode of employing capital, 
and may be useful in accomplishing that which would 
not be undertaken by incliyidual enterprise. It is 
scarcely necessary to say, that men do not cease to 
become free moral agents by their connection with a 
corporation, and hence cannot lay aside any of theii 
moral obligations. 

The acts of a corporation are the acts of those 
who compose it — of its members. The power of a 
corporation is wielded by a majority of its members, 
but the acts of the majority are binding upon all. 
The moral responsibility of those acts rests upon alL 



126 



CHKISTIAN ETHICS. 



A distinction is to be made. If a majority vote to 
pursue a dishonest course, and tlie minority, earnestly 
oppose that course, they are not guilty of dishonesty 
in the same sense in which the majority are guilty. 
Still, they are responsible for the acts of the corpora- 
tion. So far as those acts are wrong, they are 
responsible for that wrong. 

A stockholder of a company that pursues immoral 
and dishonest courses may not say, "It is contrary to 
my wishes and my vote, but I cannot help it, there- 
fore I am not to blame for it." He can, at least, help 
being connected with a dishonest company. 

Suppose three men form a partnership for carry- 
ing on the manufacture of cotton. Suppose that two 
of them in opposition to the wishes of the other, 
practice fraud in conducting the business. "Will it do 
for the honest man to say, "It is done in opposition 
to my wishes and efforts, and I am therefore not 
responsible for it." Every one knows that he is 
responsible for the acts of the firm. TVTien he receives 
his dividends, he receives in part, at least, the wages 
of iniquity. "Wherein would his conduct differ in 
principle from those who receive dividends of corpo- 
rations who violate the sabbath, or make gains by un- 
lawful means ? 

Men, that is, some men, are apt to lose their sense 
of moral responsibility when acting in an associated 
capacity. The maxim "corporations have no souls" 



CHRISTIAN ETHICS. 



127 



doubtless originated in the fact that men acting as 
members of a corporation, sometimes seem to lay 
aside theii' moral characters — seem to abandon those 
principles to which they strictly adhere in theii' in- 
diyidual transactions. 

Those entrusted with the management of cor^Dorate 
funds should exercise, at least, the same care and 
economy which they would exercise if they were their 
own. By this it is not meant that they are at hberty 
to use them as they would use theii' own. A man 
may bestow his own funds in charity, or he may pay 
a friend higher wages than others pay. He who is 
entrusted with funds for a certain object, must with 
all fidelity devote them to that object. 

If this rule were adhered to, the cost of operations 
carried on by corporations and by the goYernment, 
would not exceed that of operations carried on by in- 
diyiduals. Every one knows that the affairs of a 
company and of the goTernment, are rarely managed 
as economically as the affairs of individuals. 



CHAPTER XVni. 



DUTIES OF CITIZENS. 

Man was not created a solitary being. He was 
made to live in society. It is only in a social state 
that his various powers find occasions for develop- 
ment and room for exercise. Every one is born a 
member of some state and a subject of some govern- 
ment. He who is born in England (of EngHsh 
parents) is born subject to the constitution and laws 
of England, and he who is born in the United States, 
is born subject to the constitution and laws of the 
United States. The duties of men as members of the 
state, that is, as citizens, are very important, and 
should be accurately known. 

The state consists of all the population of the 
country regarded as a body pohtic. The government 
is the agency by which the state exercises its power. 
Government is not the state, but the instrument of 
the state. 

It is the duty of the members of the state, that is, 
of all citizens, to entertain right views in relation to 
government. If men have erroneous views in regard 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



129 



to the origin, nature and powers of government, they 
wHl have eiToneous views of duty with respect to it. 

GoYernment is an institution of God — is of divine 
origin. It is God's will that men should have govern- 
ment. He has ordained that governments shall exist 
wherever men exist. This appears fi^om the following 
facts. He has created men with a social nature. That 
nature renders it necessary for them to Hve in society. 
In order that they may Hve in society, the law of 
justice must be observed. They must be just to each 
other. If all men were perfectly just, government as 
a protecting and restraining power would not be 
necessary. But we know that all men are not just. 
Hence there must be a power to protect men in the 
enjoyment of their rights, and to restrain them from 
trespassing upon the rights of others. Such a power 
is Government. Government is necessary to the 
existence of society. 

The Bible recognizes the divine origin of govern- 
ment, and the divine authority of magistrates. The 
powers that be are ordained of God. "Wliosoever 
therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance 
of God." Eom., xiii. 2. This does not teach that the 
tyrannical usurper of the powers of government has 
the divine sanction for his conduct. It teaches that 
the ordinance of government is from God, and that 
obedience is due to its commands as such. Men may 
pervert and abuse the institution of government ; but 

6^ 



130 



CHRISTIAN ETHICS. 



its divine authority is not communicated to its per- 
versions and abuses. 

If government is an institution of God, then men 
should administer it according to his will. 

The church is an institution of God. Men have 
no right to use it as a means of accomphshing their 
selfish purposes. Neither have they a right to use 
the institution of government as a means of accom- 
plishing their selfish purposes. It should be re- 
cognized as God's institution and should be adminis- 
tered according to his v^ill. 

When a people are called upon to form a new 
government, they should have regard to God's will in 
so doing. It is his will that perfect justice should 
prevail in a community. The object of government is 
to secure justice. It is therefore his will that such a 
form of government should be estabUshed as will best 
secure justice to its subjects. 

Some seem to think that governments are wholly 
the work of men — that they can make or unmake 
them when and as they please. From what has been 
said above, it will be seen that this view is erroneous. 
Government is not an optional matter, any more than 
conscience is a optional matter. 

We are moral beings. All our voluntary acts have 
a moral character — are either right or wrong. They 
all ought to be right. In all our actions, we are to 
have reference to the will of God. Whether, there- 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



131 



fore, ye eat or drinbj or whatsoeyer ye do, do all to 
the glory of Grod." 1 Cor., x. 31. If in all our actions 
we are to have reference to the will of God, we of 
course must have reference to his will in those relat- 
ing to government. 

The people of every country are under obligation 
to have the best government possible. They are not 
at liberty to Hve under a bad government, because 
they choose to. They have no right to choose to live 
under a bad government. It is not God's will that 
bad governments should exist. 

If it is the duty of the people of a country to have 
the best possible government, then it is the duty of 
each one of the people to do all in his power towards 
securing such a government. The people determine 
the form and character of the government. Whatever 
is obhgatory on the people is obligatory on the indi- 
viduals comprising the people. Hence no one may 
say, " I will attend to my own business, and let gov- 
ernment matters alone. Those may manage them who 
choose to." 

No one can thus throw off his responsibility. 
Matters pertaining to government are among the most 
important ones connected with the interests of this 
life. A good government is necessary to national 
prosperity — to intellectual and moral progress. 

It is, therefore, our duty to reverence government 
as an institution of God, and respect magistrates as 



132 



CHRISTIAN ETHICS. 



his ministers. The apostle declares that they are his 
ministers. Eom., xiii. 6. 

Respect for magistrates is a duty too much neg- 
lected at the ^oresent day. The people are accus- 
tomed to look upon magistrates as their own creatures 
— as deriving all their authority from them. "\Miereas 
the power is ordained of God, and the people simply 
designate those who shall wield that power. The 
frequent elevation of incompetent and unworthy men 
to office, has had a tendency to lessen the respect for • 
magistrates. 

In other counti'ies, magistrates are suiTounded 
with im2Dosing forms and ceremonies intended to im- 
press the people with respect. These have been dis- 
pensed with in our country. Our respect, therefore, 
must be the result of right views of the natui^e of gov- 
ernment as ordained of God. The magistrate may 
be worthy of personal respect. ^Mien this is the case, 
it will be rendered him. But if the magistrate should 
not be worthy of personal respect, yet we should treat 
him with respect, in consequence of the office. His 
faults should not be exaggerated ; nor indeed should 
they be spoken of, unless it be necessary to the pub- 
he good. The abuse of magistrates tends to lessen 
our respect for government, and to weaken its 
power. 

It is our duty to cherish resjoect for the forms of 
law. Impatience of forms has become characteristic 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



133 



of the American people. And yet there is an impor- 
tant connection between forms and reality. Let tlie 
forms of religion be negiected, and the spirit will de- 
cay. Let the forms of hberty be abolished, and liberty 
itself will take its departni'e. Let the forms of justice 
be dispensed with, and the reality will soon be found 
wanting. 

Adherence to estabhshed forms of enacting, inter- 
preting, and executing laws, may sometimes interfere 
with the prompt administration of justice ; but de- 
parture fi-om those forms will infaliibly be followed by 
many instances of injustice. Temporary inconyenien- 
ces are better than permanent evils. 

It is the duty of all citizens to render a prompt 
and wilhng obedience to the laws of the land. They 
are to obey the laws, not because it is prudent and 
profitable to do so, but because it is right. If govern- 
ment is of God, its commands have the authority of 
its Author. The teaching of the Scriptui^es is explicit 
on this subject. 'Tut them in mind to be sub- 
ject to piincipahties and powers, to obey magistrates." 
Titus, iii. 1. 

The rule here laid down does not sanction the 
doctrine of passive obedience and non-resistance in- 
sisted on by tyrants and the sycophants of tyrants, in 
other days. It teaches obedience and submission to 
all just authority. 

There are limitations to our obedience. Suppose 



134 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



the goTemment reqiikes of us that which is plainly 
beyond onr powers : suppose it requires us to work 
a miracle, or to believe a pro^oosition without evidence. 
It would not be our duty to obey ; because it would 
not be possible. To punish us for disobedience would 
be wrong. If it should command us to do something- 
lawful and within our power, and we wilfully destroy 
our power to do the act required, we could be justly 
punished. 

When the law is in conflict with the law of God, it 
is not our duty to obey. "We ought to obey God 
rather than men." Acts, v. 29. God's law is always 
right. It is our duty always to do right. Hence we 
are not to do what is contrary to the will of God. 

We cannot throw the responsibihty of our wrong- 
doing on the government. " So then every one of us 
shall give account of himself unto God." Rom., xiv. 12. 
In giving that account, it will not do to attempt to ex- 
cuse a transgression of the law of God, by pleading 
that it was done in obedience to the commands of 
men. 

There are some who have taught that in civil mat- 
ters the law of the land is to be our rule of action — 
that whatever the law prescribes, it is right for us to 
do. Suppose the law should command us to worship 
idols, or blaspheme God ! would it be right for us to 
obey? 

Government may make things in themselves indif- 



CHBISTIAN ETHICS. 



135 



ferent obligatory, but goyernment cannot change 
moral distinctions. Tlie color of mv gai^ments is a 
matter of indifl'erenco ; but if the government should 
command me t3 wear clothes of a certain color, I 
should be imder obligation to obey. There would be 
no conflict between such a law and the law of God, 

If the goyernment should command me to beheye 
a certain rehgious creed, and to worship God accord- 
ing to a certain form, it would transcend its powers. 
It can rightfully command me to do whatever is just 
towai^ds my fellow men, but it has nothing to do with 
my personal relations to God. Hence the ChiiiTh and 
the State should never be united. They have different 
objects and different spheres of action. 

TThile they should not be united, they should be 
in harmony, not in antagonism. The Chmx-h should 
give its moral support to the State, and the State 
should secure the rights of the Chuix-h. As both are 
God's institutions, theii' legitimate workings must be 
in harmony. 

When governments command that which is con- 
trary to the will of God, they are not to be obeyed. 
But it does not follow that the execution of the law is 
to be resisted. Suppose the government should com- 
mand you to give a part of yom' property for the sup- 
port of idolatry. It would not be yoiu' duty to obey. 
The ^'overnment may send its officers to seize your 
property. It would not be right for you to make 



136 



CHKISTIAN ETHICS. 



forcible resistance — to shoot clown the officers, as in 
case of an attempt at private robbery. It may be your 
duty to submit to the spoihng of your goods. It is 
the duty of all to yield a passive submission to the 
government, till the oppression becomes so great as to 
justif}^ a resort to revolution. 

It is impossible to say when a revolution — that is, 
the forcible overthrow of an old government, and the 
estabhshment of a new one, is justifiable. A single 
unjust law does not justify the overthrow of the gov- 
ernment. If it did, no government would be secure. 
Unless a law is perfectly wise, it may have some un- 
just influence somewhere in its oj)eration. As few 
laws are perfectly wise, so few are perfectly just. To 
require a human government to be perfect, as a 
condition of obedience, would be to do away with all 
obedience. 

There is a right of revolution. There are times 
when it is right for the peo^ole to overtln^ow by force 
the existing government. In order to this, the op- 
pression and injustice must be gxeat, and the pros- 
pect of success good. Unsuccessful attempts to over- 
throw tyrannical governments have usually been 
followed with greater sufferings than those which 
caused the attempts. 

It may thus be the duty of the people to submit 
to a tyrant — to obey the commands of an usurper. 
This duty is not founded on his right to command ; 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



137 



for he has no such right, but on the principle that the 
worst kind of government is better than no govern- 
ment, and that submission vrould be followed by fewer 
evils than resistance. In such cases, obedience is a 
dictate of ^Drudence. It is often oiu^ duty to follow 
the dictates of prudence. The Scriptui^es enjoin the 
duty of suffering wi'ong under pecuhar ciiTumstances. 
We are not always to assert our rights. For this is 
thankworthy, if a man for conscience towards God 
endure grief, suffering wrongfully." 1 Pet. ii. 19. 



CHAPTEE XIX. 



DUTIES OF CITIZENS, CONTINUED, 

It is not only our duty to obey the laws, but to 
assist by our influence and aid, if need be, in their 
execution. It often happens that a particular law is 
very unpopular in a given community. Those charged 
with its execution find their office a difficult one. No 
citizen has a right to throw any obstructions in the 
way of the execution of a law, because he may deem 
it unwise, or because a majority whom he may wish 
to please are oi^posed to it. If the law has passed 
through the constitutional forms — has been legally 
enacted, and is not contrary to the law of God, it is 
to be obeyed. Citizens are justified in using all law- 
ful measures to cause its repeal ; but while it is a law, 
it is their duty to obey it, and assist in its execution. 
To get up such a pubHc sentiment as renders the law 
a dead letter, differs in form only from forcible resist- 
ance to the law. Such a coui^se lessens reverence for 
the authority of law, and tends to anarchy. 

It is the duty of citizens to contribute cheerfully 
such sums as are necessary for the support of govern- 



CHBISTIAN ETHICS. 



139 



ment, in other words, it is theii' duty to submit to 
taxation. Taxes are sums levied by the government 
to defray its expenses and promote the general wel- 
fare. A man's taxes are what he pays for the protec- 
tion of his life and property, and for the conditions of 
pubhc prosiDerity in which he shares. He ought to 
jDay his just portion of the expense of gOTernment. 
To endeavor to avoid this, and to thi'ow the bui^den 
upon others is unjust and mean. 

There is, on the part of some, a want of con^ect 
moral perception in relation to this duty. Z\Ien who 
would not defr^aud others in theii^ ordinary business 
transactions, who would not make theii' indebtedness 
a less than justice requires, will make theii' 

taxes as small as possible, by not fuimishing full infor- 
mation as to theii' property. The excuse is, that 
everybody tries to pay as httle in taxes as ^^ossible. 

This excuse is not vahd for two reasons. Fii'st, it 
is not true that this coui^se is pui'sued by every one. 
There are those who wish to do what is just in regard 
to taxes, as in regaixl to other things. They wish to 
do what is right in all cii'cumstances. In the second 
place, the fact that another man fails to do his duty, 
does not justify me in neglecting mine. In case of a 
contract between two parties, the failui'e of one to 
perform his paii: may absolve the other fr'om obhga- 
tion to perform his. But there is no analogy between 
contracts and taxes. 



140 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



Men should contribute to the expenses of govern- 
ment in proportion to their means. Direct taxes are 
those that are assessed, or are intended to be assessed, 
on individuals in proportion to the property possessed 
by each. It is the most equitable mode of taxation, 
and yet perfect justice is never reached in the matter. 
Government in this as in other things is affected by 
the imperfection of human nature. 

Indirect taxes are taxes laid on commodities as 
they are produced, or sold, or used. The tax is 
added to the price, and is paid by the consumer of the 
article. Of indirect taxes, men pay not in proportion 
to the amount of property possessed, but to the 
amount of taxed articles consumed by them. The 
fact that this mode of taxation is less equitable does 
not justify the attempt to evade the law. 

Smuggling is a form of violating the law of 
taxation. When, as in most cases, there are taxes on 
goods imported to a country, there are those who seek 
to import goods without paying the duties. They can 
undersell those who pay the duties, by reducing the 
price of their goods. Smuggling is always conducted 
by unprincipled men. A professional smuggler is not 
regarded as differing much from the thief and 
gambler. 

It is said that ladies and gentlemen of high social 
standing sometimes briag into the country, on their 
persons or in their luggage, articles on which the law 



CHRISTIAN ETHICS. 



141 



requires duties to be paid. The social standing of 
sucli travellers may exempt tliem from suspicion on 
tlie part of custom-house officers, but it is difficult to 
see wherein the moral character of their conduct 
differs from that of the vulgar smuggler. 

Purchasing smuggled goods knowing them to be 
smuggled, renders the purchaser a participator of the 
fraud against the government. 

It is the duty of citizens to cherish the spmt of 
patriotism, or the love of their country. The love of 
country is natural. We are so made that we love 
first and most intensely the members of our own 
families, next our more intimate personal friends, 
next the members of the community in which we live, 
and next the people of the country to which we 
belong. Love of our own country is not hatred of 
other countries. In the family of nations, the interest 
of one nation is connected vvith the interest of all 
other nations. In former times, statesmen thought 
that they could promote the prosperity of their nation 
by injuring the prosxoerity of other nations. Juster 
views now prevail, and it is clearly seen that it is for 
the interest of each nation that all other nations 
should be prosperous. . 

Our love of country should therefore be shown in 
honest efforts to promote the prosperity of our own 
country, not in efforts to lessen the prosperity of 



142 



CHKISTIAN ETHICS. 



other countries. National, like individual selfisliness 
is not wise. 

Citizens should endeavor to promote the prosperity 
of the country by electing competent and honest men 
to office. The character of the practical operation of 
our government depends upon the character of those 
appointed to make, interpret and execute the laws. 
It rests with the citizens to determine the character 
of the legislators, judges, and executors of the laws. 
The exercise of the right of suffrage is one of the most 
responsible acts of the American citizen. A single 
vote may determine the policy that may affect the 
destiny of millions. It is not often that a single vote 
carries an important election, but it is sometimes the 
case. Not many years ago, a single vote determined 
the election for governor in Massachusetts. 

The duty of suffrage is violated by those who 
abstain from voting. It is not an optional matter any 
more than returning money entrusted to one's care *is 
optional. The right of suffrage is a solemn trust 
which those to whom it is committed are bound to 
exercise. 

The directors of an insurance company are 
charged with the management of the affairs of the 
company. Their duty is to manage it wisely and 
justly for the benefit of the stockholders. Suppose a 
majority of the directors are honest men. Suppose 
they neglect to attend the meetings of the board of 



CHEISTIAX ETHICS. 



143 



directors, neglect to attend to the trust committed 
to them, and allow the minority to manage the affairs 
of the company for their ovrn private advantage. 
Such neglect of duty would be severely censui^ed. 

The trust committed to those who possess the 
power of suffrage is far more important than that 
committed to the directors of any insurance company. 
It_is of far more consequence that the affairs of the 
state be wisely and justly managed for the benefit of 
the state than that the affairs of the company be 
wisely and justly managed for the benefit of the 
stockholders. T^'hat shall be said of those honest 
men who neglect to attend elections and allow selfish 
politicians to manage pubhc affaii^s for their own ad- 
Tantage ? 

The duty to exercise the right of voting involves 
the duty of using the means necessary to render 
the votes effective. It involves the duty of taking 
part in those preliminary measures which result in 
designating the candidates for office. 

It is the duty of every citizen to vote for men who 
are qualified intellectually and morally, for the trust 
proposed to be conferred upon them. Friendship 
and self-interest should not influence men to vote for 
those who are not fuUy qualified. It is to be feared 
that votes are often given to candidates merely be- 
cause they are the candidates of a party. 

It is the duty of citizens to cherish a regard for 



CHRISTIAN ETHICS. 



the public good, and to be willing to put fortb efforts, 
and if need be, to make sacrifices to promote it. To 
this end it is the duty of eyery one to promote the 
cause of intellectual and moral education in the com- 
munity. Intelligence is necessary to enterprise and a 
wise direction of industry, and industry lies at the 
foundation of national prosperity. Besides, an igno- 
rant people are unfit to manage free institutions such 
as ours. Every patriot should be led by his patriot- 
ism as well as by an enlightened regard to his own 
interest to promote the growth of intelligence among 
the people. 

But intelligence will not of itself secure wise and 
right action. Men do not perform their duty just in 
proportion to their knowledge of it. The sense of 
duty must be strengthened that the duties which in- 
telligence reveals may be performed. Now there is 
an intimate and inseparable connection between re- 
ligion and morality. Washington warned the people 
against the idea that morality could exist without a 
religious basis. 

Hence it is the duty of every citizen to promote 
the religious education of the community. To pro- 
mote the circulation of the word of God, and its 
study, is the duty of the citizen patriot as well as of 
the christian. " Godliness is profitable unto all things, 
having the promise of the hfe that now is, and of 
that which is to come." 



CKIPTEE XX. 



DUTIES OF LEGISLATORS. 

It is the duty of legislators to make wise and just 
laws. It is hardly necessary to add the word just 
after wise, for a law that is not just cannot be wise. 
A man who is not competent to make wise laws has 
no right to be a legislator. No man can with pro- 
priety be said to have a right to do what he does not 
know how to do. A man cannot claim the right to 
read Greek till he knows how to read Greek, and no 
man can claim the right to make laws till he knows 
how to make laws. 

Suppose a man wholly ignorant of the art were to 
offer himseK for employment as a watchmaker! Is 
watchmaking more important than lawmaking? 
Are interests which would be periled by committing 
the dehcat^ structure of the watch to unskillful 
hands to be compared with the interests periled 
by committing the work of legislation to unskillful 
hands ? 

Legislators should see that all laws enacted by 
them are in accordance with the constitution. The 
constitution is the fundamental law of the land to 



146 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



whidi all oilier laws must be conformed. The con- 
stitution distributes the powers of government. It 
gives to the legislature its power. The legislature 
can make such laws only as the constitution em- 
powers it to make. Laws not in accordance with the 
constitution have no authority. They will be formally 
pronounced null and void by the tribunal appointed 
for that pui'pose by the constitution. 

Legislators must see that the laws enacted by 
them are according to the law of God. Laws in con- 
flict with the law of God are without authority. We 
are always to obey the higher law. God's law, the 
eternal law of rectitude, is the highest law known 
to the universe. It is the grand constitutional law of 
the universe, to which all other laws must be con- 
formed. 

Legislators should act for the good of the whole 
country for which they are called to legislate. A 
legislator may be the representative of a particular 
community. It is his duty to become acquainted with 
the condition of that community, and to pay special 
attention to its interests. He is not, however, to at- 
tempt to promote the interests of his constituents at 
the expense of the interests of the whole country, or 
of any part of it. He is one of those chosen to 
make laws for the whole country, and should have 
paramount regard to the interests of the whole 
country. 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



147 



Of course, lie should not be influenced by party 
prejudices. He is in all cases to act according to his 
own judgment of what is wise and right, and not ac- 
cording to the dictation of the leaders of the party to 
which he may belong. 

Legislators should treat the institutions of rehgion 
with respect and reverence. They are bound impar- 
tially to protect the rights of all worshippers. They 
cannot legislate for the conscience. They have no 
right to punish men for their creed. 

In former days, legislators thought they were to 
legislate for religion. They, therefore, prescribed the 
doctrines to be beheved and the forms of worship to 
be observed, and punished men if they differed from 
the creed and practice ordained by the government. 
The relation of the government to the church is now 
better understood. Christ's kingdom is not of this 
world. It seeks no aid from the government in doing 
its appropriate work. It simply claims the protection 
due to all the subjects of the state. It gives all its 
influence to the support of the state acting in its 
legitimate capacity. 

It is the duty of legislators and all other public 
officers to set an example of propriety of manners and 
of correctness of moral and religious deportment. 
When the leaders of a nation are leaders in vice, and 
a majority of the people are content to have it so, that 



148 



CHKISTIAN ETHICS. 



nation may soon expect punishment at tlie hand of 
the Governor of the nations. 

The nation is responsible for the acts of its rulers, 
for they are its agents. If they pursue an unjust and 
iniquitous course, their sins will be visited upon the 
nation. There is no truth more clearly asserted in 
the Bible, and more fully illustrated in history, than 
that God rewards and punishes nations according to 
their works. "At what instant I shall speak concern- 
ing a nation and concerning a kingdom to pluck up, 
to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against 
which I have pronounced turn from their evil, I will 
repent of the evil which I thought to do unto them. 
And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation 
and concerning a kingdom to build and to plant it, if 
it do evil in my sight that it obey not my voice, then 
will I repent of the good, wherewith I said I would 
benefit them." Jer., xviii. 7-10. 

The history of the Jewish nation recorded in the 
Bible is an illustration of the principles here laid 
down. The history of all past nations is analogous to 
the history of the Jewish nation. 

Nations are rewarded and punished in this world, 
because they will have no existence in the next. In- 
dividual guilt will be the subject of future retribution, 
but national sins are visited by national judgments in 
this world. 

It may be objected, that the disasters of nations are 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



M9 



the natural consequences of their conduct, and, there- 
fore, not visitations of God. But how came it to pass 
that disastrous consequences follow one kind of 
conduct and favorable ones another? Is it not the 
result of the ordination of God ? Is not that which 
he does by means as truly his work as that which he 
does without means ? 



CHAPTEE XXL 



DUTIES OF JUDGES. 

The office of the judge is to interpret the law. 
He does not make the law : he decides what the law 
is in regard to the case in hand. 

The welfare of the community is intimately con- 
nected with the wise and just interpretation and 
application of the laws. It is in connection with the 
decision of the judge that the law comes home " to 
their business and bosoms." Able and upright judges 
contribute largely to the public prosperity. 

It is the duty of those having the appointing 
power, to select the ablest and most upright men in 
the land to act as judges. They should be rendered 
so far independent of the other departments of the 
government, and of popular favor, that their decision 
may be unbiased by considerations of interest. 

The judge should be learned in the law and in the 
rules of interpretation. As the field from whence he 
is to derive knowledge for his guidance in the dis- 
charge of his official duties is ever widening, he 
should constantly be a dihgent student. In other 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



151 



words, lie should be constantly increasing his quali- 
fications for the office he holds. 

It is the duty of the judge to decide according to 
the law. He may deem the law unwise, and he may 
even believe that in the case before him it will work 
injustice ; still he is bound by his oath of office to 
decide according to the law. 

The character of the judge should be one of spot- 
less integrity. The judge is the redresser of wrongs. 
If he lack integrity, if his decisions are the result of 
prejudice, or passion and self-interest, a state of 
things occurs which is thus described by the prophet, 
''And judgment is turned away backward, and justice 
standeth afar off ; for truth is fallen in the street and 
equity cannot enter.'' Isa., hx. 14. 

The office of a judge is one of dignity, and those 
who hold it, should maintain the dignity of the office. 
To this, a distant and haughty bearing is not neces- 
sary, nor the trappings with which the judges of some 
countries are suiTounded. The dignity of the judge 
should reside in the man, not in his garments. 

Jurors are men called upon to act as judges in a 
particular case. Jurors are judges of the facts of the 
case. Their business is to hsten to the testimony, 
and give their decision in view of that testimony. 
They are to receive the instruction of the judge as to 
the law : they are to decide as to the facts according 
to the evidence. Suppose a man is on trial for theft. 



152 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



He is ehai^ged vritli liaying stolen fruit. A man is 
called to act as a juror on tlie trial. He must pro- 
nounce tlie man guilty or not guilty according to tlie 
evidence set before him. It may be that lie knows 
tliat the accused is gaiilty. It may be that he saw him 
take the frniii Still his knowledge must not influence 
him in making his decision. He must decide accord- 
ing to the evidence. If proof of the man's guilt is not 
brought forwai'd, he must i^ronounce him, not guilty. 

The jui^or as weU as the judge is bound to decide 
with faii'ness and impartiahty. All the responsibili- 
ties of the judge, so far as justice is concerned, rest 
upon the jui'or. 

The trial by jury is regarded as one of the greatest 
safeguards of justice and Uberty. Its value depends 
upon the fidehty with which the jurors exercise their 
functions. If their verdicts are rendered in accor- 
dance with their prejudices, if they regard theii' ob- 
ligations to those with whom they may be associated 
in politics or otherwise as superior to their obHgations 
to do justice, if bribery and corruption enter the jury- 
box, then the institution may become a curse rather 
than a blessing. 

The judges are required to adhere strictly to the 
law, and the jurors to the evidence set before them. 
It may be that false testimony may be brought for- 
ward, and thus an innocent man may be declared guilty. 
Having been pronounced guilty by the jurors, the 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



153 



judge is compelled to pronounce sentence upon him 
according to law, though he may be perfectly con- 
"vinced that the prisoner is innocent. Or it may hap- 
pen that the law may be so constructed that in a 
given case the judge may be compelled to inflict a 
penalty exceeding the deserts of the prisoner who has 
been justly convicted. 

In such cases, the pardoning power comes to the 
aid of justice. The executive is under obligation to 
pardon all those who would suffer injustice by the 
due execution of the law. 



CHAPTEE XXn. 



DUTIES OF EXECUTOES OF THE LAWS. 

All experience has shown that the security for 
justice is the greatest when one set of men make the 
laws, and another administer, them, and another exe- 
them. Hence it is the duty of the people to make 
this distribution of the powers of government. They 
have done so in our government, and a similar dis- 
tribution has been made in all constitutional govern- 
ments which have recently been made. 

The chief magistrate of a nation or state, whether 
he is called king, president or governor, is primarily 
charged with the execution of the laws. He has no 
right or power to alter the laws, or to set them aside. 
He cannot interfere with the decisions of the judges. 
His business is to execute the laws. He is not 
responsible for the acts of the law makers, nor for the 
acts of the judges. He is responsible simply for the 
execution of the laws. 

As it is not possible for him in person to execute 
all the laws, he must appoint subordinates to act 
under his direction. It is his duty to appoint men 



CHRISTIAN ETHICS. 



155 



of integi^ity Tvho are competent to do the work as- 
signed tliem. He is acting for the public and is to 
have regard only to the pnbhc good. He may not 
bestow offices upon unworthy men as the reward of 
partisan services. The example of the Father of his 
country should be followed by all who are invested 
with the executive power. He sought for men com- 
petent to fill the vacant offices. He had regard to 
services rendered to the country but not to ser- 
vices rendered or promised to himself. He would 
never have appointed a man who founded his claim 
on services rendered to the party who elevated him to 
power. 

Those charged with the execution of the laws 
should be fearless and impartial in the discharge of 
thek duty. They have but one thing to do. They 
are to carry into execution the decisions of the courts. 
They are to do what the law explicitly tells them 
to do. 

Security of life and property depends upon the 
prompt and vigorous execution of the laws. Wise 
laws are of no avail unless they are enforced. 

The chief executive of a nation or state is usually 
invested with the power to pardon those who have 
been convicted of crime. It is his duty to use this 
power for the ends for which it was given him, and 
for no other. 

The pardoning power is given to correct the in- 



156 



CHRISTIAN ETHICS. 



justice wliicli a strict adherence to law miglit some- 
times occasion, and to promote the cause of good 
government. 

The executive is not at liberty to exercise it on 
account of pity for the suffering the execution of the 
law would occasion, nor because influential men re- 
quest it. It is to be feared that the increasing fre- 
quency with which criminals are pardoned will do 
much to impair the efficiency of the laws, and to give 
impunity to fraud and violence. No part of the exe- 
cutive duty should be more carefully and conscien- 
tiously performed, than that relating to the exercise 
of the pardoning power. 

It is the duty of the officers of government, and 
indeed of all men, to cherish right views in regard to 
the object of punishment. Some assume that the ob- 
ject of punishment is the reformation of the offender : 
hence, if to pardon him will be more likely to reform 
him than to execute the sentence, he ought to be par- 
doned. This false view of the object of punishment 
has already led to great evils, and threatens to lead to 
still greater ones. 

The primary object of punishment is the meting 
out of justice. Justice is the fundamental idea of 
government. All the provisions of government have 
for their object the maintenance of justice between 
man and man. Now it is just that crime should be 
punished. It is a self-evident truth that justice ought 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



157 



to be practiced. It is a self-e^ddent trutli that injus- 
tice ought to be punished. That crime deserves pun- 
ishment is assumed throughout the Word of God. 
A distinction is everywhere made between the right- 
eous and the wicked. The righteous are regarded as 
worthy of reward^ and the wicked of punishment. 

The view of punishment above alluded to implies 
that society is under obhgation to do more for the 
guilty than for the innocent. Abraham, the fiiend of 
God, did not so understand the matter ; " that the 
righteous should be as the wicked," that is, have no 
advantage over the wicked, ''that be far fi'om thee. 
Shall not the judge of all the earth do right Gen., 
xviii. 25. 

It may be said, by way of objection, that God pun- 
ishes guilt for its own sake, but that the prerogative 
is confined to him — that with man the object of pun- 
ishment is different. 

To this it may be replied, that government is an 
institution of God, and hence is to be conducted on 
the principles laid down by him. By the voice of our 
nature and his wiitten word, he has indicated his wiU 
that the guilty shall be punished. 

Another object of punishment by government is 
the security of the law-obeying portion of the people. 
If no punishments were inflicted, no one wiU contend 
that life and property would be secure. Now just 



158 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS, 



SO far as punishment fails to be inflicted the security 
is lessened. 

Security of life and property do not depend upon 
the severity of the punishment so much as upon its 
certainty. Let it be certain that the penalty attached 
to a crime will follow its commission ; that the 
offender will be arrested, tried, convicted, sen- 
tenced, and the sentence executed, and crime would 
be almost unknown. It is the duty of the officers of 
government to see to it that this certainty of punish- 
ment follows the commission of crime. Mercy to the 
criminal is often cruelty to the innocent. 



CHAPTEE XXm. 



THE DUTY OF EEST AXD OF PUBLIC WORSHIP. 

It is the duty of man to labor. Physical labor is 
necessary to the development of the bodily powers, and 
mental labor to the development of the mental powers. 
Labor, physical and mental, is necessary to produce 
the necessaries and comforts of Hfe. The duty of 
labor is thus clearly inferible from the structure of 
the body and of the mind, in connection with the 
circumstances in which man is placed. 

The Bible teaches the duty of labor. It sets forth 
the subhmest of examples. '^My Father worketh 
hitherto and I work." Adam was placed in the 
garden of Eden to till it and dress it. The command 
from Mount Sinai is, Six days shalt thou labor," — 
not "Six days mayest thou labor." Labor is here 
spoken of as imperative, not as optional. The 
Apostle speaking of some who were disorderly and idle, 
says, " Now them that are such we command and ex- 
hort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they 
work, and eat their own bread." 2 Thess., iii. 12. He 
also commands Christians to " be diligent in business." 



160 



CHKISTIAN ETHICS. 



There is no exception made in favor of the rich. 
The rich have no more right to be idle than the poor. 
A different kind of industry may be incumbent upon 
them, but every one has or ought to have his own 
work, which he is to do with his might. 

Hence no one has a right to Hve by the sweat of 
another's brow, and no one has a right to lead a life 
of voluntary dependence upon others. The law of 
labor cannot be violated with impunity. 

The body and mind are so constituted that labor 
must be followed by rest. Eest as well as labor is a 
duty. It is necessary to the highest efficiency of labor 
mental and physical. Ijabor uninterrupted by rest 
will destroy health and all capacity for labor. 

At least one-seventh part of the time should be set 
apart for rest, — and this in addition to the hours 
spent each day in taking food, in recreation and in 
sleep. From a wide examination of facts, it has been 
found that the physical labor of men and of animals 
subject to their control is most productive when every 
seventh day is devoted to rest. At first view, it would 
seem that more would be accomplished by laboring 
seven days instead of six, but facts have furnished 
convincing proof of the assertion above made. This 
clearly shows it to be the will of the Creator that men 
should rest one-seventh part of the time. 

If it is the duty of all men to rest one day in seven, 
then it is the duty of aU to rest on the same day. 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



161 



The advantages of rest can in no other way be secured. 
Men are dependent upon one another. There mnst be 
a constant exchange of commodities and services. If 
the farmer should rest on one day, the mechanic on an- 
other, and the merchant on another, exchange and busi- 
ness intercourse between them must cease, or the rest 
of all must be imperfect. Let all obseiwe the same day 
of rest, and all these inconveniences will be avoided. 

The commandment is in keeping with these de- 
ductions of reason. " The seventh day is the sabbath 
of the Lord thy God : in it thou shalt not do any 
work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man- 
servant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy 
stranger that is within thy gates.'*' Ex., xx. 10. 

In accordance with the example set by Christians 
of the apostohc times, the &st day of the week 
according to our mode of reckoning, is observed as a 
day of rest and of worship throughout Christendom, 
instead of the seventh. 

Exceptions to this law of abstinence from labor 
relate to works of necessity and mercy. The necessity 
must not be one voluntarily imposed. We must not 
confound that which we may strongly desire to do, 
with that which is necessary. 

It is lawful to do good on the sabbath day. The 
sabbath was made for man. Mark, ii. 27. The object 
of its institution was his improvement and happi- 
ness. 



162 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



Hence the day of rest is not to be a day of 
austerity and gloom. It is a day for the reunion of 
the family, separated, it may be, during the week, by 
the demands of labor. It should be a day of cheerful 
enjoyment. It is God's will that the sabbath should 
be regarded as a dehght." Isa., Iviii. 13. 

As the sabbath was made for man, that is for his 
improvement, and especially his moral improvement, 
such exercises should be held as shall conduce to that 
improvement, without violating the law relating to 
labor. One most prominent means of securing this 
improvement, is that of meeting together for religious 
instruction and religious worship. 

The mere act of meeting together with the de- 
corum suitable for pubhc worship tends to develop 
our sympathies and promote refinement and courtesy. 
Our emotions are increased by sympathy, especially 
our moral emotions. All experience has shown that 
nothing tends so much to strengthen religious prin- 
ciple and promote religious feehng, as the public 
worship of God. "Where it is not practiced, the com- 
munity soon becomes immoral and degraded. "Where 
it is strictly and faithfully observed, a virtuous, in- 
telligent, cultivated and prosperous community is the 
result. The apostle insists on the duty of assembhng 
ourselves together. Heb., x. 25. 

The sabbath may be violated by excessive labors 
to do good. Attendance upon public services to the 



CHRISTIAN ETHICS. 



163 



exhaustion of tlie body, is not in accordance with, the 
design of the institution. 

All worldly amusements are inconsistent with the 
rest and moral improvement which it is the design of 
the sabbath to secure. 

It is worthy of remark that constitutional liberty 
has been enjoyed in those countries only in which the 
sabbath is regarded as a day of rest and of religious 
worship. Facts show that there is an intimate con- 
nection between a reverence for the sabbath and the 
prosperity of nations. 

The government is under obligation to protect its 
subjects in the enjoyment of the rest of the sabbath, 
and of worship according to their own convictions of 
duty. They must not, however, on the plea of con- 
science interfere with the rest and worship of others. 
The government should forbid all unnecessary labor 
on the sabbath. Hence government works should not 
be continued on that day. It is a national violation 
of the sabbath for which God wiU hold the nation 
accountable. 

Let it be remembered that the voice of nature and 
of Christ unite in declaring that the sabbath was 
made for man, not for the Jews merely. It is not an 
institution of Judaism but of human nature. Hence 
the aboHtion of Judaism does not affect the sabbath. 

The government has no right to enjoin the 
religious observance of the sabbath. Government has 



164 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



to do with the relations men sustain to each other as 
members of the state. It can enforce the duties 
arising from those relations. With man's duties to 
God as a spiritual worshipper, it has nothing to do by 
way of enforcement. It can secure to him freedom 
from interruption in worship, but with the spiritual 
act it has nothing to do. 

Whenever government has attempted to legislate 
for the conscience, it has inflicted grievous wrongs. 
Whenever it has attempted to regulate the affairs of 
the church, it has always corrupted it. The union of 
church and state has always been fraught with injury 
to the church. 



CHAPTEE XXIV. 



THE rUTUEE LIFE. 

If man's existence were confined to tliis world, lie 
would be none tlie less a subject of duty; all the 
duties we have considered would be incumbent on 
him. He is a subject of duty not because he is im- 
mortal, but because he has a moral nature, and 
sustains certain relations to God and his fellow 
beings. 

Man's existence is not confined to this world. He 
is to live in another world, and that truth is the foun- 
dation of certain duties, or rather modifies all his 
duties. 

The teachings of nature respecting man's immor- 
tality are in keeping with the teachings of the Bible ; 
but are not of themselves sufficient to establish it. 
Nature gives us intimations sufficient to render it 
probable that there is a future life ; revelation is 
needed to give us assurance. Immortality is brought 
to Hght, is rendered an incontrovertible truth, by the 
gospel. 

If there is a future life, and if there is auy connec- 
tion between our conduct here and our condition 



166 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



hereafter, then, as rational beings, we are under obli- 
gation to ha,ve regard to that future hfe. If there is 
merely a probability of a future hfe, "we are under ob- 
hgation to be influenced by that probabihty. We 
constantly act with reference to probabilities. The 
probabihties of a storm affect the action of the sailor ; 
the probabihties of rain, the haymaker ; the proba- 
bihties of a future demand for goods, the merchant. 
And so, if the evidence of a future life amounted to a 
probability only, we should be under obhgation to 
have regard to that probabihty in our conduct. 
Much more when the probability becomes a cer- 
tainty. 

The arguments from nature in favor of the soul's 
immortahty are chiefly negative, and prepare the way 
for the moral argument, which has great force ; but 
this has for one of its conditions a portion of revealed 
truth. T^Tien we have, by the word of God, been as- 
sured of man's immortahty, we can trace in nature 
many intimations which had otherwise escaped our 
observation. 

The argument from analogy is sometimes insisted 
on as a strong one ; but it simply suggests the pos- 
sibihty of the soul's futui^e life. As man exists, pre- 
vious to birth, in childhood, and in old age, in very 
different conditions, so he may exist hereafter in a 
condition very different from those he passes through 
here. 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



167 



The different conditions referred to in this life are 
different stages in the growth of an organized body. 
At death that body is dissolved into its original ele- 
ments. The analogy scarcely justifies the inference, 
that the soul will exist hereafter separate from the 
body. 

This argument is somewhat strengthened when it 
is rendered highly probable that the death of the body 
is not the death of the soul. A limb may be cut off, 
but the mind remains uninjured. A considerable 
portion of the body, even to a part of the brain, 
may be destroyed without destroying the soul. It is, 
therefore, possible, perhaps probable, that the destruc- 
tion of the whole body will not be the destruction 
of the soul. The force of this inference is lessened by 
the fact, that the destruction of certain parts of the 
body, puts an end at once to aU indications of the ex- 
istence of vital powers, bodily or mental. 

The fact that the exercise of the mental powers 
may be suspended, when they are not destroyed, ap- 
pears from the phenomena of sleep, and especially 
of swooning. This fact suggests the possibihty that 
death, though destroying the evidences of the exist- 
ence of those powers, may not be the destruction of 
them. 

This suggestion receives an increase of probabiHty, 
when the different parts of the body are viewed as the 
instruments of the mind. The leg is the instrument 



168 



GHKISTIAN ETHICS. 



of locomotion. Eemoye the leg, and the mind is not 
affected. The mind can still perform its part -towards 
the act of walking, as appears from the fact that loco- 
motion can take place through the instrnmentaUty of 
a wooden leg. The eye is the instrument of seeing 
and the ear of hearing. The destruction of the eye 
may not be the destruction of the mind which sees, 
any more than the destruction of a telescope is the 
destruction of the mind that has used it. 

There are other considerations that might be 
adduced to show that the death of the body is not 
necessarily the destruction of the soul. They suggest 
the possibility, and in the view of some, the proba- 
biliiy of the future life of the soul. They remove ob- 
jections, and prepare the way for the moral argument, 
which has gTeat force. Let it be gTanted that man 
is under a perfect moral goyernment, as he must be, 
if he is under the government of an infinitely wise, 
just, and powerful Being, then a futui^e state is seen to 
be necessary. Men are not rewarded and punished 
with exact justice here, therefore they will be here- 
after. A future hfe is necessary for this purpose. 
The argument rests on the fact that there exists an 
infinitely wise, just, and powerful moral Governor, and 
this fact nature does not clearly teach. It is taught 
by revelation, which throughout assumes rather than 
teaches the immortality of men. 

The truth, that man is an immortal being, and 



CHEISTTAN ETHICS. 



169 



that there is a connection between his conduct here 
and his condition hereafter, being established, very im- 
portant duties are brought to light. If it be cur duty 
in youth to prepare for the period of manhood, much 
more is it our duty to prepare in this life for the hfe 
to come. 

As no one who has entered the unseen world has 
returned to give us information concerning that 
world, we are dependent for our knowledge respect- 
ing it, and of consequence our duties in relation to it, 
wholly on the Bible. The Bible enters into no details 
respecting the future life. It contains nothing merely 
adapted to gratify human curiosity. It gives us the 
knowledge necessary to a knowledge of duty, and no 
more. 

Heaven is represented as the abode of holy beings. 
A holy, that is, a perfect character, is the preparation 
for heaven. Without hoHness no man shall see the 
Lord. Heb., xiL 14. HoHness is the sum of perfec- 
tion. So far as we are striving to form perfect char- 
acters, we are striving to prepare for a residence in 
" the better land." Hence one of the most important 
modes of preparing for the Hfe to come, is the 
assiduous performance of the duties of the life that 
now is. 

All the duties of life receive additional importance 
from their connection with the Hfe to come. Our 
pursuits and aspirations should be worthy of beings 



170 



CHEISTIAN ETHICS. 



whose existence is to run parallel with the existence 
of God. 

We should have respect to the sublime rewards of 
eternity. They will nerve us for stronger exerti6n 
and lift us to a higher elevation. The Bible does not 
inculcate a mercenary spirit. It does not found our 
obhgations to obedience on the consequences of obe- 
dience or of disobedience. But it authorizes us to have 
respect "to the re'3ompense of reward^' to be be- 
stowed in the future life. " He shall reward every man 
according to his works." Matt., xvi, 27. It author- 
izes us to derive from the future Hfe strength to per- 
form difficult duties and endure trials. Christ directed 
his disciples not only to endiu'e revihngs and persecu- 
tions for his sake, but to rejoice and be exceeding 
glad in Yiew of them, " for great is your reward in 
heaven.'' Matt., v. 12. 

It is our duty and our privilege to look forward 
to heaven as our home, and to desire it for its rest 
from painful toil and freedom from sin ; for its glo- 
rious society^ and its endless activities in the service 



of God, 



THE END. 








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